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http://www.archive.org/detaiis/fulfilmentofscriOOwickrich 


FULFILMENT 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY, 


AS  EXHIBITED  IN 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  AND  MODERN  TRAVELS. 


BY  STEPHEN  B.  WICKENS. 


The  study  of  prophecy  identifies  in  the  mind  the  God  of  revelation  with 
the  God  of  nature  and  of  history;  and,  if  investi^ted  in  a  ritrht  spirit 
of  seriousness,  may  be  mightily  instrumental  in  establishing  a  strong 
and  practical  sense  of  reli^on  in  the  heart  of  the  inquirer— f7i<Wm#r». 


► 


FIFTH  THOUSAND. 


PUBLISHED   BY    LANE   &    SCOTT, 

200  Miilberry-ttreet. 

JOSEPH     LONGKINO,     PRINTER. 

1852. 


'^■^  ^^ 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1841,  by 
G.  Lane,  &.  P.  P.  Sa>dford,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District 
Court  of  tlie  Soutliorn  District  of  New-York. 


\^4 


rcE 


Prophecy  conslilutes  so  large  and  im- 
portant a  part  of  divine  revelation,  that  no 
apology  can  be  needful  for  any  attempt, 
however  feeble,  to  elucidate  its  meaning,  ex 
hibit  its  fulfilment,  and  render  the  study  of  it 
interesting  to  the  youthful  reader. 

Most  works  on  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy 
presuppose,  on  the  part  of  their  readers,  a 
more  extensive  knowledge  of  sacred  geogra- 
phy and  general  history  than  probably  most 
of  them  possess ;  the  writer  of  the  following 
pages  has  therefore  endeavoured  to  enliven 
his  work  by  such  an  admixture  of  history 
and  of  descriptive  geography,  as  he  supposed 
would  serve  to  render  the  subject  intelligible 
and  attractive  to  general  readers.  The  in- 
formation which  it  contains  has  been  derived 
from  the  most  authentic  sources,  and  espe- 
cially from  the  publications  of  those  travel- 


4  SCRIPTURE  1>R0PHECY. 

lers  whose  researches  have,  within  the  last 
few  years,  thrown  such  a  new  and  unex- 
pected light  upon  the  subject  of  Scripture 
prophecy. 

In  crediting  quotations,  he  has  usually,  for 
brevity's  sake,  given  only  the  name  of  the 
author ;  but  by  referring  to  the  following  list, 
the  reader  will  generally  find  the  full  title 
of  the  work  quoted,  and,  if  it  be  a  book  of 
travels,  the  year  in  which  the  author  per- 
formed his  journey. 

A  Journey  Southward  from  Damascus, 
in  the  year  1836.  By  C.  J.  Addison,  Esq. 

History  of  the  Expedition  of  Alexander. 
By  Arrian.    Translated  by  J.  Rooke. 

Travels  in  Syria  and  the  Holy  Land  in 

1810-11.    By  J.  L.   BURCKHARDT. 

History  of  Arabia,  Ancient  and  Modern. 
By  Andrew  Crichton. 

Travels  in  Greece,  Egypt,  and  the  Holy 
Land,  in  1801.  ByE.  1).  Clarke,  LL.D. 

History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Ro 
man  Empire.  By  Edward  Gibbon. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  O 

Travels  in  the  Holy  Land,  and  other  places 
mentioned  in  Scripture,  in  1832-3.  By  Rev. 
R.  S.  Hardy. 

Historical  Researches  into  the  Politics, 
intercourse,  and  Trade  of  the  Principal  Na- 
tions of  Antiquity.  By  A.  H.  L.  Heeren, 
Professor  of  History  in  the  University  of 
Gottingen. 

Christian  Researches  in  Syria  and  Pales- 
tine, in  1823.  By  Rev.  W.  Jowett. 

Narrative  of  a  Journey  from  India  to  Eng- 
land, in  1824.  By  George  Keppel. 

Letters  on  Egypt,  Edom,  and  the  Holy 
Land,  in  1836.  By  Lord  Lindsay. 

Travels  from  Aleppo  to  Jerusalem,  in 
1696.  By  Henry  Maundrell. 

Dissertations  on  the  Prophecies.  By  Tho- 
mas Newton,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Bristol. 

Travels  in  Georgia,  Persia,  Armenia,  and 
Ancient  Babylonia,  in  1817-20.  By  Sir  Ro- 
bert Ker  Porter. 

Travels  in  Palestine  and  Syria,  in  the  year 
1830.  By  George  Robinson. 


6  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

The  Pictorial  Bible,  being  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  illustrated,  &c.  To  which 
are  added  original  notes,  explanatory  of  the 
history,  geography,  natural  history,  and  an- 
tiquities of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  Three 
volumes.  Imp.  8vo. 

This  treasury  of  Scripture  illustration  was  published  in 
London,  in  1838,  and  at  once  became  a  standard  work. 
From  a  recent  London  journal  we  learn  that  "Mr.  John 
Kitto,  the  author  of  it,  when  a  boy  of  eleven  years,  had 
his  organs  of  hearing  destroyed  by  a  fall  from  the  roof  of  a 
house.  But  notwithstanding  this,  he  has  travelled  exten- 
sively, and  resided  for  some  time  in  Bagdad,  during  a  pe- 
riod when  plague,  flood,  famine,  and  war  were  desolating 
that  unhappy  city.  It  was  during  his  sojourn  in  the  East, 
that  Mr.  Kitto,  in  despite  of  the  disadvantages  under 
which  he  labours,  accumulated  that  store  of  knowledge, 
observation,  and  comparison  which  has  rendered  his  com- 
mentary on  the  Bible  so  novel  and  valuable."  On  the 
subject  of  Prophecy,  his  literary  researches,  as  well  as  his 
personal  acquaintance  with  several  of  the  places  referred 
to  by  the  prophets,  have  enabled  him  to  point  out  some 
circumstances  which  previous  writers  had  overlooked. 

Narrative  of  a  Journey  to  the  Site  of  Baby- 
lon, in  1811 ;  and  a  Memoir  on  the  Ruins 
of  Babylon.  By  C.  J.  Rich,  the  East  India 
Company's  Resident  at  Bagdad. 

Narrative  of  a  Residence  in  Koordistan, 
and  on  the  Site  of  Nineveh,  in  1 820.  By  the 
same  author 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  7 

Travels  along  the  Mediterranean  and  Parts 
Adjacent,  in  1816-18.  By  Robert  Rich- 
ardson, M.  D. 

A  Relation  of  a  lourney  begun  An.  Dom. 
1610.  Fovre  Bookes.  Containing  a  De- 
scription of  the  Turkish  Empire,  of  iEgypt, 
of  the  Holy  Land,  of  the  Remote  parts  of 
Italy,  and  Hands  adioyning.  By  George 
Sandys.     Third  edition,  London,  1632. 

Travels  and  Observations  relating  to  seve- 
ral parts  of  Barbary  and  the  Levant,  in  1722. 
By  Thomas  Shaw,  D.  D. 

Travels  through  Syria  and  Egypt,  in  the 
years  1783,  4,  5.  By  M.  C.  F.  Volney. 

Mr.  Keith  has  well  remarked,  that  Volney,  "  from  the 
manner  in  which  he  generalizes  his  observations,  and 
marks  the  peculiar  features  of  the  diiferent  districts  of  Sy- 
ria, with  greater  acuteness  and  perspicuity  than  any  other 
traveller  whatever,  is,  although  *  he  meant  not  so,  neither 
did  his  heart  think  so,'  the  ever-ready  purveyor  of  evi- 
dence in  all  the  cases  which  came  within  the  range  of  his 
topographical  description  of  the  wide  field  of  prophecy, — 
while,  at  the  same  time,  from  his  known,  open,  and  zeal- 
ous hostility  to  the  Christian  religion,  his  testimony  is 
alike  decisive  and  unquestionable." 

Narrative  of  a  Voyage  along  the  Shores  of 
the  Mediterranean,  including  a  Visit  to  Egypt, 
Palestine,  etc.  By  W.  R.  Wilde,  M.  R.  L  A. 


8  SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY. 

To  originality,  either  of  matter  or  manner, 
the  present  work  makes  but  little  pretension ; 
and  should  it  answer  the  end  for  which  it  is 
designed,  the  writer  claims  no  other  merit 
than  that  of  diligence  in  collecting,  and  judg- 
ment in  arranging,  the  materials  of  which  it 
is  composed.  S.B.w. 

New- York,  April  1, 1841. 


In  preparing  the  work  for  a  new  edition, 
the  whole  has  been  carefully  revised :  some 
new  matter  has  also  been  introduced,  drawn 
from  the  following  authorities  : — 

Biblical  Researches  in  Palestine,  Mount 
Sinai,  and  Arabia  Petrea :  a  Journal  of  Tra- 
vels in  1838.  By  Edward  Robinson,  D.  D. 

Travels  in  Egypt,  Arabia  Petrea,  and  the 
Holy  Land.  By  Rev.  Stephen  Olin,  D.  D. 

Neither  of  the  above  works  were  published 
until  after  the  appearance  of  the  first  edition 
of  this  volume.  S.  B.  W. 


t 


CONTENTS. 


Chap.  Page 

I.  lutroductory  Observations 11 

II.  Prophecies  concerning  the  Posterity  of  Ishmael  41 

III.  Prophecies  concerning  the  Jews 71 

IV.  Prophecies  concerning  the  Jews,  concluded  ..  101 

V.  Prophecies  concerning  the  Holy  I^and 145 

VI.  Prophecies  concerning  Ammon  and  Moab 189 

VII.  Prophecies  concerning  Philistia 21V 

VIII.  Prophecies  concerning  Nineveh 227 

IX.  Prophecies  concerning  Babylon   245 

X.  Prophecies  concerning  Tyre 313 


*^ 


FULFILMENT 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 
CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY   OBSERVATIONS. 

Propnecy  defined— Large  portion  of  Scripture  consists  of  proplie- 
cy— Extent  and  subjects  of  Scripture  prophecy — Christ  the  grand 
theme  of  prophecy — The  prophets — ^Different  modes  in  which  God 
communicated  his  will  to  them— Memner  in  which  they  published 
their  predictions — Style  of  the  prophetic  writings — Prophecy  an 
emanation  of  the  divine  goodness — The  prophetic  denunciations 
always  conditional — Fulfilment  of  prophecy  proves  the  inspiration 
of  Scripture — Infidel  objection — Contrast  between  Scripture  pro- 
phecy and  heathen  oracles — Use  of  unfulfilled  prophecy— Succes- 
sion of  Scripture  prophecy— Object  of  the  present  work. 

By  the  word  prophecy  we  understand  the 
foretelling  of  future  events — the  declaration  be- 
forehand of  "things  that  shall  be  hereafter:" 
not  such  things,  however,  as  may  be  conjectur- 
ed by  human  sagacity,  or  expected  from  the  re- 
gular operations  of  nature,  but  such  as  can  be 
foreseen  by  none  but  the  omniscient  God,  and 
foretold  by  those  only  to  whom  the  "  Father  of 
lights"  shall  reveal  them.  Man,  by  the  use  of 
history,  may  acquire  some  information  respect- 


12  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

ing  the  things  that  are  past ;  but  he  "  knows  not 
what  shall  be  on  the  morrow :"  prophecy,  so 
far  as  it  goes,  draws  aside  the  veil  which  hides 
coming  events,  and  lays  open  the  scenes  of  the 
future.* 

Every  reader  of  the  Bible  must  have  ob- 
served how  large  a  portion  of  the  inspired 
volume  is  of  a  prophetical  character.  Scrip- 
ture prophecy  began  to  be  uttered  in  Paradise, 
by  our  first  parent,  before  the  fall ;  "  its  parts 
are  distributed  over  the  various  dispensations 
of  religion  for  upward  of  four  thousand  years  ; 
and  it  ceased  only  with  the  last  accents  on  the 
lips  of  the  last  of  the  apostles." 

Thus  extensive  in  the  period  of  its  delivery, 
prophecy  is  not  less  so  in  regard  to  the  sub- 
jects which  it  embraces,  and  the  period  of  time 
to  which  it  refers.  The  fate  of  nations,  and 
of  individuals,  the  rise  and  fall  of  kingdoms, 
the  succession  of  empires,  the  desolation  of 

*  The  words  PROPHESY,  predict,  and  foretel,  are  prt 
cisely  the  same  in  meaning,  but  are  derived  from  different 
languages.  The  word  prophesy  is  of  Greek  origin,  being 
composed  of  the  two  words  rrpo,  before,  and  ^VH-f-i  I  speak; 
predict  is  a  compound  of  the  two  Latin  words  pre,  he- 
fore,  and  Dico,  /  speak ;  the  word  foretel  is,  of  course, 
formed  by  the  union  of  the  two  English  words  before  and 
teU. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  W 

mighty  cities  and  countries,  are  among  the 
objects  of  prophetic  vision.  It  points  to  events 
near  and  remote,  and  embraces  the  most  pro- 
minent and  remarkable  facts  in  the  history  of 
the  world  from  its  creation  to  the  present  day ; 
while  its  unfulfilled  predictions  stretch  forward 
to  the  period  when  it  shall  be  declared  that 
"  time  shall  be  no  longer." 

But  the  grand  subject  of  Scripture  pro- 
phecy was  the  progressive  development  of  the 
person  and  kingdom  of  the  promised  Messiah — 
the  Redeemer  of  the  world.  "  The  testimony 
of  Jesus, ^^  observes  St.  John  in  the  Revelation, 
(xix,  10,)  "  is  the  spirit  ofprophecy^^ — the  scope, 
design,  and  consummation  of  it.  "  To  him  give 
all  the  prophets  witness,^^  (Acts  x,  43,)  is  the  lan- 
guage of  another  inspired  apostle.  They  were 
chosen  of  God  to  testify  beforehand,  "  the  suf- 
ferings of  Christ  and  the  glory  that  should 
follow." 

**  Messiah's  name  attuned  each  lofty  string, 
The  world's  Redeemer,  and  his  people's  King ! 
He  in  his  glory,  in  his  grief,  appear'd 
The  Star  that  led  them,  and  the  Sun  that  cheer'd. 
For  him  the  kindling  inspiration  glow'd, 
And  words  of  fire  from  lips  terrestrial  flow'd. 
Him,  in  his  own  supernal  light  they  saw, 
And  track'd  his  suffering  path  with  trembling  awe. 


14  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

Beheld  him  conflict  with  the  powers  beneath, 
Victorious  burst  the  iron  grasp  of  death, 
A  conqueror  from  the  realms  of  hades  rise. 
And  pass  triumphant  through  the  cleaving  skies. 
They  view'd  his  empyreal  throne  sublime. 
High  raised  o'er  every  realm  of  earth  and  time  ; 
And  hail'd  that  morn  commenced  whose  cloudless  sun 
An  everlasting  course  through  changeless  years  shall 
run." — Bulmer's  Messiah's  Kingdom. 

Under  the  Old  Testament  dispensation,  pro- 
phecy directed  the  eye  of  hope  to  a  future 
Saviour,  and  was,  as  the  apostle  beautifully 
expresses  it,  "  a  light  shining  in  a  dark  place," 
increasing  in  splendour  and  brightness,  "  until," 
at  length,  in  "  the  fulness  of  time,"  the  "  day"  of 
the  gospel  "  dawned"  on  the  world,  *'  and  the 
day-star  arose"  in  the  hearts  of  the  faithful.  As 
the  Jlrst  coming  of  Christ  was  the  centre  of  Old 
Testament  prophecy,  so  the  leading  design  of 
the  New  Testament  predictions  is  to  confirm 
our  faith  in  his  second  coming,  and  teach  us  to 
be  "  looking  for  and  hastening  unto  the  day  of 
the  Lord,"  2  Peter  iii,  12. 

The  catalogue  of  Scripture  prophets  em- 
braces men  from  almost  every  rank  and  station 
in  society.  Among  them  were  kings,  princes, 
patriarchs,  priests,  and  legislators.  The  greater 
part,  however,  were  taken  from  the  lower  walka 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  15 

of  life — husbandmen,  shepherds,  fishermen, 
&c. ;  but  the  office  and  the  calling  dignified 
the  men.  Their  natural  talents,  education,  and 
habits  were  as  dissimilar  as  their  occupations ; 
but  they  all  gave  indubitable  evidence  that  they 
were  "  moved"  to  the  prophetic  office  "  by  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

Various  means  were  employed  by  Jehovah 
in  making  known  his  will  to  the  prophets.  He 
"  spake  unto  them,"  says  the  apostle,  "  in  di- 
vers manners."  The  usual  method  seems  to 
have  been  by  the  direct  agency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  impressing  upon  the  mind  of  the  indi- 
vidual the  message  which  he  was  to  deliver. 
Sometimes  predictions  were  delivered  by  the 
ministry  of  angels.  Judges  xiii,  2-5  ;  Zech.  i, 
4 ;  Luke  i,  13.  In  some  instances,  as  in  the 
case  of  Abraham,  and  of  Samuel,  the  word  of 
the  Lord  came  in  an  audible  voice.  Gen.  xxii, 
15-18 ;  1  Sam.  iii,  1-14.  Sometimes  his  deter- 
minations respecting  the  future  were  communi- 
cated in  dreams,  instances  of  which  are  record- 
ed in  Gen.  xv,  12-16;  xxvii,  12-15;  and  Jer. 
xxxi,  26.  The  dreams  of  Joseph,  Pharoah,  and 
Nebuchadnezzar,  were  also  prophetic.  At  other 
times  he  made  use  of  visions,  which  differed 
from  dreams,  in  that  they  generally  consisted 
of  scenes  and  representations  which  appeared 


16  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

to  a  person  when  he  was  awake,  and  in  pos- 
session of  his  natural  powers  and  faculties. 
After  the  prophet  had  attentively  considered  the 
vision,  its  import  and  signification  were  usually 
made  known  to  him.  Ezekiel  viii,  ix,  xxxvii ; 
Daniel  viii,  x,  xi.  The  book  of  Revelation,  also, 
consists  of  a  series  of  prophetic  visions.  Rev. 
i,  9,  &c.  "  The  method  of  communication 
which  the  Deity  adopted  in  respect  of  Moses 
seems  to  have  differed  from  all  these  :  and 
whatever  is  to  be  understood  by  the  phrase, 
*  The  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  face  to  face,  as  a 
man  speaketh  to  his  friend,'  (Exod.  xxxiii,  11,) 
a  superior  kind  of  illumination  is  doubtless  in- 
tended. It  was  the  highest  degree  of  inspira- 
tion."* But  however  various  were  the  methods 
of  communicating  the  divine  will,  they  were 
always  such  as  produced,  in  the  mind  of  the 
person  who  received  the  communication,  a  con- 
viction that  it  was  from  God,  and  enabled  him 
to  say,  with  confidence,  "  The  word  of  the  Lord 
came  unto  me." 

When  the  prophets  had  received  their  mes- 
sage, they  proceeded  to  publish  it,  which  they 
did  in  various  ways.  Sometimes  it  was  writ- 
ten out,  and  posted  up  where  it  might  be  read 

*  CoUyer's  Lectures  on  Scripture  Prophecy. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHFCY.  17 

by  persons  who  passed  by.  Hab.  ii,  2.  When 
Jeremiah  received  the  promise  of  Juaah's  resto- 
ration from  Babylon,  he  was  commanded  to 
"  write  the  words  in  a  book,"  (Jer.  xxx,  2,)  doubt- 
less that,  being  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  peo- 
ple, it  might  be  a  source  of  consolation  to  them 
during  the  years  of  their  captivity.  But  the 
more  general  method  seems  to  have  been  that 
of  proclaiming  the  predictions  aloud  m  some 
public  place  ;  thus  Jeremiah  was  commanded  by 
God  to  "  stand  in  the  gate  of  the  Lord's  house, 
and  proclaim  there"  his  word,  Jer.  vii,  2 ;  at 
other  times  we  find  the  same  prophet  publish- 
ing his  message  at  the  city  gates,  (xvii,  20,) 
and  also  at  the  gate  of  the  king's  house,  (xxii, 
1,  2;)  and  Jonah  publicly  declared  in  the 
streets  of  Nineveh  the  judgments  of  God  against 
that  city.  Jonah  iii,  4.  Upon  some  important 
occasions,  when  it  was  necessary  to  rouse  the 
fears  of  a  disobedient  nation  and  recall  them  to 
repentance,  the  prophets  adopted  extraordinary 
modes  of  expressing  their  convictions  of  im- 
jpending  wrath,  and  endeavoured  to  awaken  the 
apprehensions  of  the  people  by  the  most  strik- 
ing illustration  of  threatened  punishment.  Thus 
Jeremiah  made  bonds  and  yokes,  and  put  them 
upon  his  neck,  to  indicate  the  subjection  to 
which  Judea,  and  the   neighbouring  nations, 


18  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

should  be  reduced  by  the  king  of  Babylon.  Jer. 
xxvii,  and  xxviii.  On  another  occasion,  having 
assembled  the  elders  of  the  priests  and  people, 
and  announced  to  them  the  judgments  of  God 
against  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  he  took  an  earthen 
bottle  and  dashed  it  to  the  earth,  saying,  "  Even 
so  will  the  Lord  break  this  people  and  city,  as 
one  breaketh  a  potter's  vessel  that  cannot  be 
made  whole  again,"  Jer.  xix,  11.  So  Isaiah 
"walked  naked  and  barefoot,"  (Isa.  xx,  2,)  and 
Ezekiel  publicly  removed  his  household  stuff 
from  the  city,  (Ezek.  xii,  1-12,)  more  forcibly  to 
represent  by  these  actions  some  corresponding 
calamities  which  awaited  nations  obnoxious  to 
God's  wrath ;  this  symbolical  method  of  ex- 
pressing important  circumstances  being  not  un- 
usual among  eastern  nations. 

The  greater  part  of  the  prophetic  writings 
are  poetical,  and,  like  all  oriental  poetry,  highly 
figurative,  abounding  in  metaphors  drawn  from 
the  manners  and  customs,  climate,  natural  phe- 
nomena, &c.,  of  eastern  countries.  Some 
knowledge,  therefore,  of  oriental  customs  and 
forms  of  speech  is  often  essential  to  a  full  un- 
derstanding of  the  literal  meaning  of  a  predic- 
tion. Of  this  some  instances  will  occur  in  the 
course  of  the  present  volume. 

The  purpose  of  God  in  the  dispensation  of 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  19 

prophecy  was  one  of  pure  and  unmixed  bene- 
volence to  mankind.  From  the  primeval  pro- 
mise in  paradise,  to  the  last  of  the  apocalyptic 
visions,  "  good  will  to  man"  breathes  in  every 
prediction.  The  redemption  of  the  world  by 
Jesus  Christ,  the  future  glory  of  the  chiurch,  and 
the  universal  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  the 
Messiah,  were  the  leading  subjects  of  Scrip- 
ture prophecy,  and  the  themes  on  which  the 
prophets  delighted  to  dwell.  Many  of  their  pre- 
dictions, it  is  true,  consist  of  denunciations 
against  ungodly  cities  and  nations ,  but  even 
here  "  mercy  and  judgment  met  together ;" 
the  design  of  these  threatenings  was  to  "lead 
men  to  repentance,"  and  however  apparently 
positive  the  terms  in  which  they  are  express- 
ed*, they  were  always  understood  to  be  con- 
ditional ;  their  execution  depending  upon  the 
effect  which  they  might  produce  on  those  to 
whom  they  were  addressed.  This  we  learn 
from  the  testimony  of  God  himself,  as  given  in 
Jer.  xviii,  7,  8,  where  he  says,  "  At  what  in- 
stant I  shall  speak  concerning  a  nation,  and 
concerning  a  kingdom,  to  pluck  up,  and  to  pull 
down,  and  to  destroy  it ;  if  that  nation,  against 
whom  I  have  pronounced,  turn  from  their  evil, 
I  will  repent  of  the  evil  that  I  thought  to  do 
unto  them."     Thus,  when  "  the  men  of  Nine- 


20  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

veh  repented  at  the  preacliing  of  Jonah,"  the 
Lord  "  repented  of  the  evil  that  he  said  he 
would  do  unto  them,  and  he  did  it  not,"  Jonah 
iii,  10 ;  and  because  Ahab  humbled  himself  be- 
fore the  Lord,  the  execution  of  the  divine  judg- 
ments against  his  house  was  suspended  until 
after  his  death.  1  Kings  xxi,  29. 

One  of  the  benefits  derived  from  prophe- 
cy, is  the  conclusive  and  irresistible  evi- 
dence which  it  affords  of  the  truth  of  divine 
revelation.  "  There  is  a  voice  which  comes  to 
us  from  the  desolate  sites  where  Babylon  and 
Nineveh  once  stood  in  splendour,  and  reigned 
in  power — from  the  prostrate  condition  of  fallen 
Egypt — ^from  the  wonderful  annals  and  remark- 
able preservation  of  the  Jewish  nation — from 
the  desolation  of  Judea  and  the  surrounding 
countries" — testifying  that  God  himself  was  the 
instucter  of  the  prophets,  and  that  through  his 
inspiration  they  declared  in  the  beginning  what 
should  come  to  pass  in  the  latter  days.  The 
foreknowledge  of  future  events  is  one  of  the 
strongest  proofs  that  can  be  given  of  a  super- 
natural communication  with  the  Deity.  It  mani- 
fests, in  an  equal  degree  with  miracles,  the  in- 
terposition of  a  divine  agency.  It  is  as  impos- 
sible for  man,  who  "  knoweth  not  what  a  day  may 
bring  forth,"  to  predict  the  events  which  shall 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  21 

occur  a  hundred  years  hence,  as  it  is  for  him 
with  the  word  of  his  mouth  to  heal  the  sick  or 
raise  the  dead.  "The  voice  of  Omnipotence 
alone  can  perform  the  latter, — the  voice  of  Om- 
niscience alone  can  reveal  the  former, — and 
both  are  alike  the  voice  of  God." 

In  one  particular,  indeed,  the  evidence  of  pro- 
phecy is  more  forcible  than  that  of  miracles ;  for 
while  the  proof  from  miracles  loses  something 
of  the  vividness  of  its  effect  (though  none  of  its 
authority)  from  the  distance  of  time,  the  force 
of  the  argument  from  prophecy  is  increased 
from  that  very  cause.  It  is  a  growing  evidence, 
gathering  strength  by  length  of  time,  and  afford- 
ing from  age  to  age,  as  its  predictions  are  gradu- 
ally fulfilling,  fresh  proofs  of  its  divine  origin. 
"  As  a  majestic  river  expands  itself  more  and 
more  the  further  it  removes  from  its  source, 
so  prophecy,  issuing  from  the  first  promise  in 
paradise  as  its  fountain  head,  acquired  addi- 
tional strength  and  fulness  as  it  rolled  along, 
and  will  still  go  on  increasing  in  extent  and 
grandeur,  until  it  shall  finally  lose  itself  in  the 
ocean  of  eternity."* 

The  opponents  of  Scripture  have  attempted 
to  invalidate  the  evidence  of  divine  inspiration 
*  Sir  William  Jones. 


22  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

arising  from  prophecy,  by  alleging  that  the  pa- 
gan nations  of  antiquity  had  their  prophets  and 
oracles  as  well  as  the  Hebrews.  It  is  true  that 
they  had  numberless  pretenders  to  the  gift  of 
prophecy.  Their  history  abounds  with  stories 
and  predictions  of  augurs  and  oracles  ;  and  be- 
cause it  is  known  that  these  were  the  offspring 
of  fraud  and  cunning  on  the  one  hand,  and  of 
ignorance  and  superstition  on  the  other,  infidels 
have  affected  to  believe  that  all  predictions  of 
futurity  are  founded  on  the  same  basis,  and 
therefore  reject  the  prophecies  of  Scripture.  It 
is,  however,  an  easy  matter  to  show  the  perfect 
contrast  which  exists  between  those  contempti- 
ble mockeries  of  divine  omniscience,  and  the 
sublime  and  holy  predictions  contained  in  the 
Bible. 

The  ancient  heathen,  when  about  to  make 
war,  or  settle  a  colony,  or  undertake  any  event 
of  importance,  consulted  their  gods  in  order  to 
ascertain  their  prospects  of  success.  One  mode 
of  obtaining  the  desired  information  was  by  the 
observance  of  omens,  which  were  interpreted 
by  persons  called  augurs  or  soothsayers.  Thus 
the  most  important  events  of  state,  as  well  as 
the  concerns  of  private  individuals,  would  often 
depend  upon  the  direction  in  which  birds  might 
happen  to  fly,  the  greediness  of  chickens  in 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  23 

devouring  their  food,  accidental  rencounters, 
words  spoken  by  chance,  and  afterward  inter- 
preted into  good  or  bad  omens,  eclipses,  comets, 
unforeseen  accidents,  with  an  infinity  of  chi- 
meras of  like  nature.* 

But  their  most  esteemed  method  of  determin- 
ing future  events  was  by  answers  from  oracles, 
or  gods  who  were  supposed  to  reside  in  par- 
ticular places,  and  to  reveal,  through  their  at- 
tending priests,  the  secrets  of  the  future  to 
those  who  consulted  them.  There  are  said  to 
have  been  about  three  hundred  of  these  oracles 
in  different  parts  of  the  world ;  but  the  principal 
ones  were  in  Greece.  They  were  generally 
located  in  the  recesses  of  some  thick  wood  or 
dark  cavern,  or  in  the  secret  places  of  temples. 
The  most  distinguished  of  them  was  the  ora- 
cle of  Apollo,  at  Delphi,  which  was  consulted 
in  cases  of  importance  by  most  of  the  princes 
of  the  times  in  which  it  flourished.  The  ora- 
cles were  accessible  only  at  stated  periods ; 
and  whoever  consulted  them  was  required  to 
make  large  presents  to  the  god  before  he  could 
obtain  the  information  he  desired.  Numerous 
ceremonies  were  also  to  be  performed,  and 
sacrifices  to  be  offered,  and,  in  case  the  omens 
were  unfavourable,  no  answer  was  given.  As 
*  Rollin's  Ancient  History. 


24  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

the  priests  were  themselves  the  sole  judges  of 
the  omens,  it  was  easy  for  them  to  evade  every 
question  respecting  which  it  might  be  inexpe- 
dient for  them  to  commit  themselves.  When, 
at  length,  the  answer  was  pronounced,  it  was 
often  couched  in  such  obscure  and  doubtful 
terms,  that  it  needed  another  oracle  to  explain 
its  meaning.  Sometimes  it  was  expressed  in 
so  artful  and  ambiguous  a  manner,  that  it  was 
capable  of  two  opposite  interpretations,  and, 
therefore,  however  the  event  turned  out,  the 
credit  of  the  oracle  was  sustained.  For  this 
the  Delphian  oracle  was  notorious.  History 
relates,  that  when  Croesus,  after  presenting  a 
most  munificent  donation,  consulted  this  oracle 
in  relation  to  his  intended  invasion  of  Persia, 
he  received  this  reply : — 

KpoLuog  *AXvv  6ca(3ag  fieydlijv  &pxvv  KaraTivaei. 
Crofesus,  crossing  the  Halys,  shall  destroy  a  great  empire. 

This  he  naturally  understood  to  mean  that  he 
should  destroy  the  Persian  empire,  and,  on  the 
strength  of  this  prediction,  he  commenced  a 
war  which  terminated  in  the  loss  of  his  own. 
When,  after  his  defeat,  he  reproached  the  oracle 
with  having  deceived  him  by  a  false  prediction, 
he  was  told  that  the  oracle  had  only  declared 
that  a  great  empire  should  be  destroyed,  and 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  25 

tliat  lie  ought  to  have  made  a  second  inquiry  to 
ascertain  whether  his  own  or  the  Persian  em- 
pire was  intended.  By  this  evasion,  the  jug- 
gling priests  saved  the  credit  of  their  oracle,  and 
the  unfortunate  king  found  he  had  been  outwit- 
ted. When  Pyrrhus  inquired  of  the  oracle 
what  would  be  the  issue  of  his  war  with  Rome, 
he  received  a  response  in  Latin,  so  "  cunningly 
devised,"  that  it  might,  with  equal  propriety, 
be  rendered,  Pyrrhus  shall  conquer  the  Romans, 
or,  The  Romans  shall  conquer  Pyrrhus.  When- 
ever they  gave  a  more  direct  answer,  and  the 
event  did  not  happen  to  correspond  thereto, 
they  accounted  for  the  failure  by  pretending 
that  some  of  the  initiatory  ceremonies  had  not 
been  rightly  performed,  or  that  the  gods  were 
unfavourable  to  the  person  who  made  the  in- 
quiry. 

The  servility  and  corruption  of  the  pagan 
oracles  were  notorious.  Through  intimidation, 
or  bribery,  they  were  frequently  induced  by 
public  men  to  give  such  answers  as  would  pro- 
mote their  own  schemes.  "  Demosthenes,  in 
one  of  his  speeches  to  the  Athenians,  publicly 
charged  the  Delphic  oracle  with  being  gained 
over  to  the  interests  of  King  Philip ;  and  the 
Greek  historians  give  other  instances  in  which 
it  had  been  corrupted  by  money,  and  the  pro- 


26  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

phetess   sometimes  deposed  for  bribery,   and 
sometimes  for  lewdness."* 

"  The  pagan  oracles  uttered  no  spontaneous 
predictions  ;  unless  a  direct  appeal  was  made 
to  them,  they  observ^ed  a  prudent  silence.  In 
saying  nothing,  they  exposed  themselves  to  no 
detection ;  and  when  they  did  speak,  it  was 
always  with  sufficient  precaution."!  None  of 
their  predictions  went  deep  into  futurity.  They 
relate  chiefly  to  the  termination  of  affairs  then 
actually  in  hand,  the  preparatory  circumstances 
of  which  were  well  known,  and  the  issue 
speedily  to  be  determined.  There  was  not 
even  the  pretence  of  foresight  beyond  a  few 
years.  Being  thus  consulted  only  in  matters  of 
immediate  emergency,  the  result  of  which  could 
often  be  foreseen  by  persons  of  ordinary  saga- 
city, it  is  not  surprising  that  the  event  should 
sometimes  accord  with  their  predictions.  This 
served  for  a  long  series  of  years  to  keep  up 
their  credit ;  but  at  length  their  numerous  frauds 
and  impostures  began  to  open  the  eyes  of  the 
more  sagacious  heathen,  some  of  whom  openly 
ridiculed  their  pretensions,  and  held  them  in 
utter  contempt.  They  continued,  however,  to 
maintain  their  influence  over  the  multitude 
until  after  the  time  of  Christ,  when,  as  the  light 
*  Watson^s  Institutes.        f  Home's  Introduction. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  27 

of  the  gospel  gradually  dispelled  the  darkness 
in  which  the  heathen  world  was  enveloped,  the 
oracles  fell  into  disrepute,  and  at  last  entirely 
ceased. 

From  this  pitiful  scene  of  juggling  and  im- 
posture, let  us  now  turn  to  the  prophets  of  the 
Bible.  We  find  these  imposing  no  bewildering 
ceremonies  on  those  who  consulted  them,  and 
seeking  no  concealment  in  the  delivery  of  their 
predictions.  Their  prophecies  were  not  oracu- 
lar responses  "  spoken  in  secret,  in  a  dark 
place  of  the  earth,"  but  were  publicly  proclaim- 
ed in  the  most  frequented  places — in  the  courts 
of  the  temple,  in  the  streets  of  cities,  in  the 
assemblies  of  the  elders — and  were  afterward 
generally  committed  to  writing,  so  that  they 
might  be  "  known  and  read  of  all  men." 

While  the  priests  of  paganism  "  taught  for 
hire,  and  the  prophets  thereof  divined  for  mo- 
ney," driving  a  gainful  trade,  and  communicat- 
ing their  oracles  only  upon  the  inducement  of 
large  gifts,  the  prophets  of  the  Lord,  on  the 
contrary,  were  distinguished  for  their  incor- 
ruptible integrity.  Even  Balaam,  who,  we  are 
told,  "  loved  the  wages  of  unrighteousness," 
while  under  the  influence  of  divine  inspiration 
could  say,  "  Though  Balak  should  give  me  his 


28  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

house  full  of  silver  and  gold,  I  cannot  go  beyond 
the  word  of  the  Lord  my  God,"  Num.  xxii,  18 ; 
and  his  subsequent  conduct  evinced  the  since- 
rity of  his  declaration.  Num.  xxv,  11-13. 

As  they  were  not  to  be  corrupted  by  bribery, 
so  neither  could  they  be  influenced  by  fear  or 
intimidation.  Their  office  frequently  compel- 
led them  to  deliver  the  most  unwelcome  mes- 
sages under  the  most  trying  circumstances. 
They  were  often  required  to  denounce  the  judg- 
ments of  the  Almighty  against  a  rebellious  peo- 
ple, and  rebuke  the  iniquities  of  those  who  were 
exalted  in  rank  and  encircled  with  power.  But 
"  they  concealed  no  truth  which  they  were  com- 
missioned to  declare,  however  displeasing  to 
their  nation,  or  hazardous  to  themselves."  Yea, 
they  "  stood  before  kings,"  and  boldly  reproved 
them  for  their  sins.  Their  fearless  integrity 
often  exposed  them  to  "bonds  and  imprison- 
ment," and  sometimes  even  to  death  itself. 
"Thou  that  killest  the  prophets,  and  stonest 
them  that  are  sent  unto  thee,"  was  the  reproach 
addressed  to  Jerusalem  by  our  Lord.  Matt, 
xxiii,  29-37. 

In  their  predictions  we  discover  neither  arti- 
fice nor  ambiguity.  They  had  a  clear,  deter- 
minate, and  consistent  sense,  and  were  spoken 
with  all  the  confidence  of  truth,  and  generally 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  29 

with  the  plainness  of  history.  Although  a  veil 
of  obscurity  hung  over  some  of  the  prophecies 
which  referred  to  distant  events,  until  their  ac- 
complishment enabled  men  to  "  understand  the 
interpretation,"  yet  even  these  were  never  de- 
lusive in  their  character,  or  capable  of  double 
and  contrary  significations. 

While  the  pagan  oracles  "  hardly  dared  to 
assume  the  prophetic  character  in  its  full  force, 
but  stood  trembling,  as  it  were,  on  the  brink  of 
futurity,  conscious  of  their  inability  to  venture 
beyond  the  depth  of  human  conjecture,"*  the 
genuine  prophets  of  the  Almighty  "  looked 
through  the  course  of  succeeding  ages,  and 
proved,  by  the  very  sweep  and  compass  of 
their  predictions,  that  they  were  under  the  in- 
spiration of  Him  to  whom  *  a  day  is  as  a  thou- 
sand years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day.'  "t 
They  beheld  with  a  clear  and  steadfast  eye, 
and  declared  with  authority  and  confidence, 
events  so  distant,  so  contingent,  and  at  the  time 
of  their  prediction  so  improbable,  that  no  hu- 
man foresight  could  have  anticipated  them. 
"Their  prenunciations  of  the  state  of  various 
people, — as  the  Jews,  and  the  Arabians,  and 
the  Egyptians, — delivered  thousands  of  years 
ago,  offer,   at  the  present  moment,  the  most 

*  Bd.  Watson's  Apology.         t  Watson's  Institutes. 


30  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

Striking  graphic  delineation  of  these  people  as 
they  actually  are.  Their  picturesque  represent- 
ations of  the  fate  of  ancient  cities — the  fisher- 
men that  dry  their  nets  on  the  rocks  and  rubbish 
of  Tyre,  the  doleful  creatures  that  nestle  in  the 
ruins  of  Babylon  and  Nineveh — give,  with  all 
the  accuracy  of  a  Flemish  picture,  the  vivid  re- 
alities of  their  present  situation."* 
.  In  the  subjects  of  their  predictions  the  Hebrew 
prophets  are  inconceivably  superior  to  the  ora- 
cles of  paganism.  The  predictions  of  the  lat- 
ter were  altogether  destitute  of  dignity  and 
importance, — the  mere  guesses  of  fortune-tel- 
lers at  the  issue  of  matters  of  local,  personal, 
and  temporal  concern, — having  no  higher  object 
in  view  than  to  promote  the  worldly  schemes, 
and  gratify  the  vain  curiosity  of  kings  and 
princes.  The  prophecies  of  Scripture,  on  the 
contrary,  embrace  subjects  of  the  highest  im- 
portance to  the  present  and  eternal  welfare,  not 
only  of  individuals  and  nations,  but  of  the  whole 
human  race,  and  are  inseparably  connected 
with  the  religious  hopes  and  expectations  of 
mankind. 

Their  prophecies  formed  but  a  small  part  of 
the  public  instructions  of  the  prophets ;   they 
also  taught  the  people  all  the  practical  parts  of 
*  Chalmer's  Evidences. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  31 

a  divine  religion ;  they  proclaimed  the  being 
and  providence  of  God ;  they  upheld  religion 
and  piety  in  the  worst  times,  and  at  the  greatest 
hazards  ;  they  exposed  the  pretensions  of  the 
pagan  deities  ;  they  called  men  to  repentance, 
conversion,  and  newness  of  heart ;  and  they 
proffered  the  merciful  promises  of  pardon  and 
grace.  In  the  midst  of  this  course  of  doctrine, 
and  in  order  to  encourage  the  people  to  yield 
to  it,  they  delivered  their  sacred  oracles  of  a 
Saviour  to  come.* 

The  purity  of  their  lives,  the  intrinsic  excel- 
lence of  their  instructions,  the  disinterested 
zeal,  and  undaunted  fortitude  with  which  they 
discharged  their  ministry,  the  miraculous  pow- 
ers which  they  exercised,  and  the  wonderful 
accomplishment  of  their  predictions,  fully  de- 
monstrate the  claims  of  the  Hebrew  prophets 
to  a  divine  commission,  and  prove  that  they 
were,  what  the  Scriptures  declare  them  to  have 
been,  "  holy  men  of  God,  who  spake  as  they 
were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,"  2  Peter  i,  21. 
"  Can  then  the  prophecies  of  Scripture  be  pa- 
ralleled with  the  dark,  venal,  and  delusive  ora- 
cles of  heathenism,  without  impiety?"  Who 
that  has  any  knowledge  of  both,  would  for  a 
moment  think  of  seriously  comparing  the  one 
*  Bishop  Wilson's  Evidences. 


32  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

with  the  other,  or  pretend  that  they  have  equal 
claims  to  divine  inspiration ?  "In  the  contrast, 
the  interpreter  of  pagan  oracles  stands  abashed 
before  the  prophet  of  the  Lord,  like  the  witch 
of  Endor  before  the  rising  spirit  of  Samuel."* 

While  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy  thus  esta- 
blishes the  divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures, 
the  prophecies  which  yet  remain  to  be  accom- 
plished answer  even  now  an  important  end. 
They  open  our  prospect  into  the  future,  encour- 
aging us  to  put  forth  our  utmost  efforts,  and  to 
expect  the  accomplishment  of  our  warmest 
wishes  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  While 
the  mighty  conflict  between  truth  and  error  is 
still  going  on,  we  see  how  it  will  terminate, 
and  know  that  the  powers  of  darkness  will  at 
last  be  overthrown,  and  that,  to  use  a  prophetic 
phrase,  "  at  even  tide  it  shall  be  light." 

"  Lo,  radiant  truth  on  high, 
With  outstretch'd  arm,  the  lamp  of  prophecy 
Hangs  o'er  a  darken'd  world," 

and  the  light  which  it  affords  has  cheered  the 
church  in  her  darkest  hours,  and  been  her  con- 
solation and  support  in  the  most  troublous 
times. 

*  Stowe's  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Bible. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  33 

"  Long  in  this  weary  wilderness,  the  word 
That  speaks  of  happier  scenes  hath  been  her  stay  ; 
And  urging  oft  her  rude  and  cheerless  way 
Through  many  a  thorny  brake,  her  tearful  eyes 
Have  tum'd  in  holy  transport  to  the  skies, 
And  realized,  by  faith's  transpiercing  power. 
The  bliss  of  that  anticipated  hour, 
When,  glorious,  seated  on  his  conquering  throne, 
Messiah's  sway  a  subject  world  shall  own  ; 
When  earth's  wide  realms  Jehovah's  praise  shall  sing, 
And  bow  the  suppliant  knee  to  heaven's  immortal  King." 
Bulmer's  Messiah's  Kingdom. 

With  a  brief  chronological  view  of  the  suc- 
cession of  Scripture  prophets,  mentioning  the 
leading  subjects  of  their  prophecies,  we  will 
close  the  present  chapter. 

"  The  first  man,  Adam,  has  an  undoubted 
right  to  stand  at  the  head  of  the  prophets,  as 
he  does  at  the  head  of  the  human  race.  His 
declaration  concerning  marriage,  *  For  this 
cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother,  and 
cleave  to  his  wife,''  is  so  truly  prophetic,  that  no 
doubt  can  be  formed  on  the  subject.  There  was 
then  nothing  in  nature  or  experience  to  justify 
such  an  assertion  ;  and  he  could  have  it  only  by 
divine  inspiration.  The  millions  of  instances 
which  have  since  occurred,  and  the  numerous 
laws  which  have  been  founded  on  this  princi- 
ple among  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  show 


34  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

with  what  precision  the  declaration  was  con 
ceived,  and  with  what  truth  it  was  published  to 
the  world."* 

After  the  fall,  guilty  man  was  not  thrust  oul 
of  paradise  till  prophecy  had  whispered  some 
hope  of  a  future  Saviour,  in  the  promise  that 
the  "  Seed  of  the  womarC^  should  "  bruise  the 
head  of  the  serpent." 

"  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam,"  is  called 
a  prophet  in  Jude  14,  15,  where  a  fragment  of 
one  of  his  prophecies  is  preserved. 

Noah,  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  before 
the  deluge,  was  divinely  premonished  of  that 
tremendous  judgment ;  and  previous  to  his  death 
he  delivered  predictions  respecting  his  sons. 

Abraham  received  prophetic  annunciations 
of  the  "  Seed*^  in  whom  "  all  the  families  of  the 
earth  should  be  blessed ;"  of  the  multiplication 
of  his  posterity,  their  affliction  for  four  hundred 
years  in  a  strange  country,  and  their  subsequent 
possession  of  the  promised  land. 

Isaac  foretold  the  subjection  of  Esau's  de- 
scendants to  those  of  Jacob. 

Instructed  by  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  "  Jacob, 
when  he  was  a  dying,"  predicted  the  advent 
of  "  Shiloh,"  and  told  his  sons  what  should  be- 
fall their  posterity  in  future  days. 
*  Dr.  A.  Clarke. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  35 

Joseph  was  favoured  with  prophetic  dreams 
himself,  and  had  the  gift  of  interpreting  those 
of  others ;  he  also  foretold  the  redemption  of 
Israel  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt. 

After  the  exodus,  prophecy  rekindled  its  torch. 
Moses,  who  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  of 
the  prophets,  predicted  the  coming  of  the  Mes- 
siah, under  the  designation  of  a  prophet  like  unto 
himself,  and  foretold  some  of  the  most  remote 
events  of  the  Jewish  history.  About  the  same 
time,  also,  the  unwilling  prophecies  of  Balaam 
were  delivered. 

After  the  death  of  Moses  there  seems  to  have 
been  a  cessation  of  prophecy  for  about  four 
hundred  years.  "  The  word  of  the  Lord  was 
precious  in  those  days ;  there  was  no  open 
vision,"  until  the  period  when  "  Samuel  was 
established  to  be  a  prophet"  in  Israel.  1  Sam. 
iii,  1,20. 

The  age  of  prophecy,  emphatically  so  call- 
ed, now  commenced.  From  this  time  to  the 
close  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  succession  of 
prophecy  was  uninterrupted.  First  came  Da- 
vid, and  tuned  his  harp  ;  mingling  in  his  psalms 
devotion,  poetry,  and  prophecy  together.  The 
succession  was  kept  up  by  some  seers  of  minor 
note,  until  the  appearance  of  those  remarkable 
prophets  Elijah  and  Elisha,  whose  histories 


36  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

form  so  prominent  a  part  of  the  two  books  of 
Kings. 

Jonah  prophesied  during  the  reign  of  Jero- 
boam II.,  king  of  Israel.  Amos,  Hosea,  and 
MicAH,  prophesied  about  the  same  time,  or 
soon  after,  and  denounced  the  judgments  of  God 
against  the  corruptions  of  Israel  and  Judah,  and 
also  against  the  inhabitants  of  Philistia,  Edom, 
Ammon,  and  Moab. 

Contemporary  with  these,  also,  was  Isaiah, 
the  prince  of  the  prophets,  who  continued  until 
the  time  of  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah.  From  the 
number,  variety,  and  explicitness  of  his  predic- 
tions concerning  the  advent,  character,  ministry, 
sufferings,  and  death  of  the  Messiah,  and  the 
future  glory  of  the  church,  Isaiah  has,  not  un- 
aptly, been  denominated  the  evangelical  pro- 
phet. He  also  testified  against  the  crimes  of 
the  Jews,  and  declared  the  fate  of  Babylon, 
Philistia,  Moab,  Egypt,  and  Tyre. 

Nahum  came  next,  bearing  "  the  burden  of 
Nineveh ;"  then  Joel,  whose  prophejcies  relate 
principally  to  the  Jews  ;  and  Zephaniah,  who 
predicted  also  the  punishment  of  Philistia, 
Moab,  Ammon,  and  Nineveh. 

Habbakuk  flourished  in  the  reign  of  Jeho- 
iakim,  and  foretold  the  captivity  of  Judah  by 
the  Chaldeans,  as  did  also  Jeremiah,  who  lived 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  37 

to  see  tlie  fulfilment  of  his  prediction,  and  ut- 
ter his  Lamentations  over  the  desolation  of  the 
holy  city.  He  likewise  foretold  the  termina- 
tion of  their  captivity  at  the  end  of  seventy 
years,  and  denounced  the  divine  judgments  upon 
several  other  nations. 

EzEKiEL,  who  followed  the  Jews  in  their 
captivity,  predicted  the  calamities  which  God, 
through  the  instrumentality  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
would  bring  upon  Judea  and  the  surrounding 
countries.  About  this  time,  also,  it  is  supposed 
that  Obadiah  delivered  his  prophecy  concern- 
ing the  destruction  of  Edom. 

In  Babylon,  Daniel  arose,  and  pointed  out  the 
succession  of  the  four  great  empires  of  Assyria, 
Persia,  Greece,  and  Rome.  He  likewise  fixed 
the  precise  time  of  Messiah's  appearance,  and 
foretold  the  rise  and  fall  of  antichrist,  and  the 
universal  prevalence  of  the  true  religion. 

Haggai  and  Zechariah  returned  with  the 
Jews  from  Babylon  ;  they  reproved  the  languid 
nation  for  their  delay  in  rebuilding  the  temple, 
encouraged  them  by  promises  of  future  prospe- 
rity, and  delivered  several  predictions  relative 
to  the  Messiah  and  his  kingdom,  and  the  future 
condition  of  the  Jews. 

Mala  CHI,  the  last  of  the  Old  Testament  pro- 
phets, flourished  in  the  days  of  Nehemiah.    He 


38  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

reproved  the  priests  and  people  for  their  hypoc- 
risy and  general  wickedness,  and  predicted  the 
coming  of  Christ,  and  of  the  "  Messenger"  who 
should  "  prepare  the  way"  before  him. 

"  Here  is  a  succession  of  divinely  inspired 
men,  by  whom  God  *  at  sundry  times  and  in 
divers  manners  spake  unto  the  fathers,'  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world  down  to  the  restora- 
tion from  the  Babylonish  captivity,  a  period  of 
three  thousand  six  hundred  years." 

A  pause  of  four  hundred  years  then  elapsed, 
during  which  every  whisper  of  prophecy  was 
hushed,  "until  Christ  our  Lord  arose — ^pre- 
ceded, according  to  the  prophetic  declaration, 
by  his  precursor — and  predicted  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  and  the  dissolution  of  the  Jewish 
polity." 

He  was  followed  by  St.  Paul,  who  prophe- 
sied the  recovery  of  the  Jews ;  and  predict- 
ed the  rise  of  the  papal  apostacy,  under  the 
designation  of  "the  man  of  sin — the  son  of 
perdition,"  2  Thessalonians  ii,  3.  Last  of  all 
came  St.  John,  who,  in  the  prophetic  visions 
of  the  apocalypse,  foreshows  the  most  remark- 
able revolutions  and  events  in  the  Christian 
church  from  his  own  time  until  the  final  and 
complete  triumph  of  Christianity,  and  the  per- 
fecting of  its  glory  in  the  heavenly  world,  when, 


SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY.  39 

to  use  the  apostle's  own  expression,  "  the  mys- 
tery of  God  shall  be  finished."  The  revelations 
of  the  beloved  disciple  close  the  dispensation 
of  prophecy,  and  the  canon  of  Scripture  to- 
gether. "  The  vision  is  then  shut  up,  the  testi- 
mony is  sealed,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  is 
ended." 

"  It  is  obvious  that  the  wide  range  and  pro- 
digious extent  of  Scripture  prophecy  gives  the 
subject  an  importance  and  sublimity,  a  sort  of 
impress  of  divine  magnificence,  which,  when 
verified  by  the  respective  fulfilments,  surpasses 
all  that  we  could  have  conceived.  We  have 
not  merely  one  or  two  oracular  declarations, 
but  a  whole  system  of  prescient  grandeur,  run- 
ning through  all  time,  and  stretching  to  the 
consummation  of  all  things."* 

The  prophecies  of  Scripture  may  be  divided 
into  three  classes. 

1.  Prophecies  relating  to  the  Jewish  nation 
in  particular. 

2.  Prophecies  relating  to  other  nations  and 
empires. 

3.  Prophecies  relating  to  the  person  and 
kingdom  of  the  Messiah. 

The  majority  of  these  predictions  have  al- 

*  Wilson's  Evidences. 


40  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

ready  met  their  accomplishment ;  some  are  at 
the  present  time  in  course  of  fulfilment,  while 
others,  as  we  have  before  observed,  look  for- 
ward to  the  far-distant  future. 

It  is  our  purpose  in  the  following  pages  to 
select  some  of  the  most  striking  and  remarkable 
of  those  predictions  which  have  been  fulfilled, 
or  now  are  fulfilling  in  the  world,  and  trace 
their  accomplishment  in  the  history  of  the  na- 
tions, and  in  the  present  state  of  the  people  and 
countries  to  which  they  refer.  We  shall  then 
see  how  wonderfully  "  the  history  of  the  world 
has  responded  to  the  prophecies  of  the  Bible, 
and  echoed  back  to  the  *  holy  men'  who  utter- 
ed them,  a  complete  assurance  that  they  *  spake 
as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.'"* 
*  M'llvaine's  Lectures. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  41 

CHAPTER  11. 

PROPHECIES  RESPECTING  ISHMAEL'S  POSTERITY. 

The  Arabs  descended  from  Ishmael — Prophecies  respecting 
Ishmael — ^Refer  to  his  posterity  rather  than  to  himself— Hagar 
and  Ishmael  sent  out  from  Abraham's  family — Their  sufferings 
and  deliverance  in  the  wilderness— Reflections — Ishmael  lives  an 
unsettled  life — ^His  sons  the  founders  of  twelve  tribes — His  pos- 
terity, according  to  the  prophecy,  become  a  "great  nation" — They 
are  a  "  wild"  people — They  retain  the  manners  and  customs  of 
their  ancestors — They  live  in  a  state  of  hostility  with  all  othei 
nations — Are  robbers  by  profession— Manner  in  which  they  justify 
their  robberies — Their  hospitahty — The  Arabs  have  maintained  a 
perpetual  independence — Were  never  conquered  by  the  Egyp- 
tians, Assyrians,  or  Persians — Alexander's  projects  against  them 
defeated  by  his  death — Were  not  subdued  by  the  Romans — Do 
not  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Turks — Objections  of  Gib- 
bon refuted  by  himself— Character  of  the  Arabs,  by  Sandys — 
Testimony  of  Volney — Concluding  reflections. 

One  of  the  promises  made  to  Abraham,  was, 
that  he  should  be  the  "  father  of  many  nations." 
This  promise  was  abundantly  verified.  Since 
the  days  of  Noah  and  his  sons  there  has  been 
no  man  whose  posterity  is  equally  numerous, 
or  to  whom  so  many  nations  refer  their  origin. 
The  most  distinguished  branches  of  his  family 
are  the  Arabs  and  the  Jews,  the  former  the  de- 
scendants of  Ishmael,  the  latter  of  Isaac.  Con- 
cerning each  of  these  nations  there  are  some 
remarkable  prophecies,  and  both  of  them  exist 
at  the  present  day,  separate  and  distinct  from 


42  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECir. 

the  rest  of  mankind,  and  from  each  other,  a 
standing  proof  of  the  power  and  providence  of 
God,  and  of  the  truth  of  divine  revelation. 

The  principal  prophecy  concerning  Ishmael 
and  his  posterity  is  contained  in  the  language 
of  the  angel  to  Hagar,  when  she  fled  from  the 
face  of  her  mistress.  "  And  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  found  her  in  the  wilderness,  and  said  unto 
her,  *  Return  to  thy  mistress  and  submit  thyself 
under  her  hands.'  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
said  unto  her,  *  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  exceed- 
ingly that  it  shall  not  be  numbered  for  multi- 
tude. Behold,  thou  art  with  child,  and  shalt 
bear  a  son,  and  shalt  call  his  name  Ishmael ; 
and  he  will  be  a  wild  man ;  his  hand  will  be 
against  every  man,  and  every  man's  hand 
against  him  :  and  he  shall  dwell  in  the  pre- 
sence of  all  his  brethren,'"  Gen.  xvi,  9-12. 
Some  additional  circumstances  are  contained 
in  Genesis  xvii,  20,  where,  in  answer  to  Abra- 
ham's prayer,  "  O  that  Ishmael  might  live  be- 
fore thee !"  Jehovah  graciously  assures  him, 
"  As  for  Ishmael,  I  have  heard  thee :  behold, 
I  have  blessed  him,  and  will  make  him  fruitful, 
and  will  multiply  him  exceedingly:  twelve 
princes  shall  he  be(/et,  a*^  1 1  will  make  him  a 
gTeat  nation." 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  43 

"  The  usual  idiom  of  the  Scripture  requires 
us  to  understand  in  both  passages  what  is  said 
of  Ishmael  personally  to  be  true  also  of  his  de- 
scendants. Indeed,  it  is  rather  his  posterity 
than  himself  that  is  primarily  intended.  When 
it  is  said,  *  I  will  multiply  him  exceedingly — I 
will  make  him  a  great  nation,'  the  word  *  him' 
obviously  means  his  posterity ;  for  no  one  can 
imagine  that  he  himself  was  meant  to  be  multi- 
plied in  virtue  of  this  promise,  neither  can  one 
man  be  called  a  nation, — so,  likewise,  when  it 
is  said  *  his  hand  shall  be  against  every  man, 
and  every  man's  hand  against  him,'  it  is  evident 
that  one  man  could  not  subsist  alone  in  open 
enmity  to  all  the  world,  nor  could  one  man's 
hand  be  literally  against  every  man's.  There 
is,  moreover,  not  the  slightest  hint  in  Scripture, 
nor  any  reason  to  believe,  that  Ishmael  lived 
personally  in  a  state  of  opposition  to  his  bre- 
thren. Throughout  this  whole  prediction,  there- 
fore, Ishmael  must  be  viewed  as  the  representa- 
tive of  his  posterity.  What  is  declared  of  him, 
and  promised  to  him,  was  intended  to  be  affirm- 
ed of  his  descendants  and  fulfilled  in  them."* 

For  several  years  after  his  birth,  Ishmael  and 
Jds  mother  remained  in  the  family  of  Abraham, 
and,  until  the  fourteenth  year  of  his  age,  ho 
*  Bush's  Notes  on  Genesis. 


44  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

doubtless  expected  to  be  the  sole  heir  of  his 
father.  At  this  period,  however,  the  birth  of 
Isaac,  who  was  to  be  the  heir  of  the  promises, 
caused  a  great  change  in  the  condition  of  Ish- 
mael,  who,  irritated  probably  at  being  super- 
seded in  the  inheritance  by  his  younger  bro- 
ther, appears  to  have  treated  him  with  rudeness 
and  contempt.  This  did  not  escape  the  jealous 
eye  of  Sarah,  who  in  consequence  insisted  on 
the  immediate  expulsion  of  Hagar  and  Ishmael 
from  the  family.  Abraham,  however,  was  loth 
to  proceed  to  such  extremities.  His  feelings 
were  different  from  those  of  Sarah,  who  fixed 
her  affections  exclusively  on  Isaac,  and  re- 
garded Ishmael  as  an  intruder  and  a  rival :  but 
Abraham,  as  the  father  of  both,  felt  a  paternal 
affection  toward  each,  and  the  course  proposed 
by  Sarah  "  was  very  grievous  in  his  sight  be- 
cause of  his  son."  It  was  however  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  designs  of  God,  and  Abra- 
ham was  directed  to  comply.  In  this,  as  in 
various  other  instances,  the  patriarch  manifest- 
ed his  exemplary  faith  and  obedience.  It  was 
painful  to  his  feelings  as  a  father  to  concur  in 
so  severe  a  measure  ;  but  some  gleam  of  futu- 
rity was  afforded  to  enlighten  the  darksome 
but  appointed  path.  "And  God  said  unto 
Abraham,  '  Let  it  not  be  grievous  in  thy  sight 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  45 

because  of  the  lad,  and  because  of  thy  bond- 
woman :  in  all  that  Sarah  hath  said  unto  thee, 
hearken  unto  her  voice  ;  for  in  Isaac  shall  thy 
seed  be  called.  And  also  of  the  son  of  the 
bondwoman  will  I  make  a  nation,  because  he 
is  thy  seed,'"  Gen.  xxi,  12. 

With  a  small  supply  of  provisions  and  a  bot- 
tle of  water,  Hagar,  with  her  son,  who  was  now 
about  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  old,  was  sent 
forth  to  find  a  home  in  some  of  the  surrounding 
districts.  Directing  her  steps  toward  her  na- 
tive country,  she  wandered  with  the  lad  in  the 
wilderness  of  Beersheba.  In  a  few  days  the 
water  is  spent,  and  poor  Hagar  pants  along  the 
solitary  desert,  turning  hither  and  thither  in 
search  of  some  scanty  supply.  Not  a  drop  is 
to  be  found ;  and  at  length,  arriving  at  some 
shrubs,  she  sat  down  with  her  exhausted,  and, 
as  she  supposed,  dying  son,  beneath  the  wel- 
come shade.  Unable  to  witness  his  expiring 
agonies,  she  laid  him  under  one  of  the  shrubs 
and  retired  to  a  short  distance  ;  "for  she  said, 
*  Let  me  not  see  the  death  of  the  child,'  and  she 
sat  over  against  him,  and  lifted  up  her  voice 
and  wept,"  Gen.  xxi,  16.  Who  can  imagine 
the  pangs  of  that  excruciating  moment,  or  the 
bitterness  of  the  tears  she  shed  ?  A  more  finish- 
ed picture  of  distress  it  would  be  difficult  to 


46  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

conceive.  Had  there  been  any  ear  to  hear, 
any  eye  to  pity,  or  any  hand  to  relieve  the 
sufferers,  their  cries  and  tears  might  have  been 
mingled  with  hope ;  but  as  far  as  human  aid 
was  concerned,  their  situation  was  apparently 
desperate,  and  however  much  we  may  blame, 
we  can  scarcely  be  surprised  at  Hagar's  distrust 
of  the  promises  made  to  her  on  a  former  occa- 
sion, when  she  saw  that  son  who  was  to  be  the 
father  of  a  great  nation,  ready  to  perish  before 
her  eyes.  But  God  was  not  unmindful  of  his 
promises :  at  this  critical  moment  an  angel 
again  appeared  to  the  desponding  mother,  and 
directed  her  to  a  well  of  water  close  at  hand, 
whence  she  replenished  her  bottle  and  supplied 
her  fainting  son.  The  wanderers  then  con- 
tinued their  journey  as  far  as  the  wilderness 
of  Paran,  where  they  took  up  their  residence. 
"  In  this  distressing  circumstance  in  the  life 
of  Hagar,  a  superficial  observer  might  see 
nothing  but  a  curious  concurrence  of  ordinary 
events.  The  insolence  of  Ishmael  irritated 
the  temper  of  Sarah ;  she  procured  his  expul- 
sion and  that  of  his  mother  from  her  household ; 
retiring  in  disgrace,  she  narrowly  escaped  de- 
struction in  the  wilderness,  and  afterward  took 
up  a  casual  residence  in  the  vicinity.  But  if 
we  pay  a  proper  attention  to  these  events,  we 


*  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  47 

shall  view  them  with  another  eye.  Every  cir- 
cumstance was  connected  with  a  vast  pro^d- 
dential  plan.  The  folly  of  Ishmael,  the  con- 
duct of  Sarah,  the  compliance  of  Abraham,  the 
various  occurrences  connected  with  the  settle- 
ment in  Paran,  concurred  to  accomplish  the 
predestined  purposes  of  Jehovah  ;"*  for  God 
does  not  always,  nor  even  generally,  bring  his 
predictions  to  pass  by  miraculous  means,  but 
by  the  operation  and  concurrence  of  natural 
causes.  Ishmael,  in  consequence  of  his  ex- 
pulsion from  his  father's  house,  and  the  way  of 
life  into  which  he  was  thus  forced,  became 
early  inured  to  hardships  ;  and  his  freedom  from 
restraint,  and  the  habit  of  reliance  on  himself 
which  his  mode  of  life  must  have  induced,  did 
much  to  foster  that  love  of  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence of  character  which  was  ascribed  to 
him  by  the  prophecy,  before  his  birth. 

"  He  dwelt  in  the  wilderness  of  Paran,  and 
became  an  archer,"  Gen.  xxi,  20.  *•  The  expres- 
sion, *  he  became  an  archer,' "  observes  Profes- 
sor Bush,  "  unquestionably  denotes  warlike 
character  and  practices.  It  is  but  another 
mode  of  saying  that  he  began  to  "be  distinguish- 
ed for  lawless  and  predatory  habits,  as  his  de- 
scendants have  always  been." 

*  Cox's  Female  Scripture  Biography. 


48  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

It  was  also  specified  that  he  should  be  the 
father  of  "  twelve  princes."  In  a  subsequent 
part  of  the  Mosaic  history,  we  find  a  notice  of 
the  fulfilment  of  this  prediction.  Moses,  when 
enumerating  the  immediate  descendants  of  Ish- 
mael,  concludes  his  account  in  these  words  : — 
"  These  are  the  sons  of  Ishmael,  and  these  are 
their  names,  by  their  towns,  and  by  their  cas- 
tles ;  twelve  princes  according  to  their  na- 
tions ;"  by  which  we  understand,  not  that  Ish- 
mael's  twelve  sons  were  independent  sovereign 
princes,  but  that  they  became  the  heads  or 
founders  of  so  many  distinct  tribes,*  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  sons  of  Jacob  were  the 
heads  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  Of  Ish- 
maePs  personal  history  we  have  no  further 
knowledge,  except  that  he  joined  with  his  bro- 
ther Isaac  in  paying  the  last  tribute  of  respect 
to  his  father,  and  that  he  died  in  the  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  Gen. 
XXV,  9,  18. 

We  have  now  seen  the  accomplishment  of 
the  prediction  so  far  as  Ishmael  himself  is  con- 
cerned ;  but,  as  was  before  observed,  the  pro- 

*  The  Arabs  of  the  present  day  are  divided  into  sepa- 
rate tribes,  the  heads  of  which  are  commonly  called 
EmirSj  or  princes. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  49 

phecy  refers  not  so  mucli  to  Ishmael  personally, 
as  to  his  posterity:  we  will,  therefore,  proceed 
to  trace  its  fulfilment  in  the  history  and  present 
state  of  the  Arab  tribes. 

"  /  mil  multiply  him  exceedingly — /  will  make 
him  a  great  nation.^'' — This  prediction  was  ful- 
filled as  soon  as  in  the  course  of  nature  it  could 
be  accomplished.  In  process  of  time,  the  de- 
scendants of  Ishmael  became  a  "  great  nation," 
and  such  they  have  continued  to  the  present 
day.  They  are  mentioned  in  Scripture  under 
the  names  of  Ishmaelites,  Hagarenes,  and 
Arabians. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  under 
the  general  name  of  Arabs  many  persons  con- 
found two  distinct  classes  of  people,  who, 
though  inhabiting  the  same  countries,  are  of 
widely  difl^erent  characters.  One  class  live  in 
cities  and  towns,  and  subsist  by  agriculture  and 
commerce  ;  the  other  class  comprise  the  roving, 
pastoral  tribes,  who  inhabit  the  desert  and 
dwell  in  tents.  The  latter  are  the  posterity  of 
Ishmael,  and  are  commonly  distinguished  from 
the  other  Arabs  by  the  name  of  Bedouins.* 

*  The  word  Bedouin  is  a  corruption  of  the  Arabic  hadwi, 
which  is  derived  from  the  substantive  hadw^  "  an  open 
country,  a  desert,"  and  signifies  an  inhabitant  of  the 
desert. 

4 


50  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

The  numbers  leading  this  wandering  and  pre- 
carious mode  of  life  are  incredible.  They  are 
not  confined  to  the  deserts  of  Arabia.  "  From 
the  banks  of  the  Indus  on  the  east,  to  those  of  the 
Senegal  on  the  west,  are  colonies  of  them  to  be 
met  with ;  and  between  north  and  south,  they 
are  scattered  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  island 
of  Madagascar.  Of  all  nations  they  have  spread 
themselves  farthest  over  the  world ;  the  Tar- 
tar hordes  have  not  occupied  so  wide  an  extent 
of  the  globe."* 

He  will  he  a  wild  man. — The  original  signifies 
literally  "  a  wild-ass-man,"t  for  the  word  which 
our  translators  have  rendered"  wild,"  is  the  same 
that  is  applied  to  the  onager,  or  wild  ass,  in 
other  parts  of  the  Scriptures.  The  figure  is  very 
striking.  The  principal  qualities  of  the  wild 
ass  are  savage  independence,  prodigious  swift- 
ness, a  disposition  to  assemble  in  troops,  and  a 
fondness  for  the  wilderness  ;  all  which  strongly 
characterize  the  descendants  of  Ishmael.  The 
description  of  this  animal  in  the  book  of  Job 
will  recur  to  the  recollection  of  every  student 
of  the  Bible. 

*  Niebuhr's  Travels  in  Arabia. 

t  This  form  of  expression  is  still  used  among  the  Arabs, 
who  employ  the  term  "  wild  ass,"  to  designate  a  person 
of  a  contumacious,  untractable  disposition. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  51 

*' Who  hath  sent  out  the  wild  ass  freel 
Or  who  hath  loosed  the  bands  of  the  wild  ass  1 
Whose  house  I  have  made  the  wilderness, 
And  the  barren  land  his  dwellings. 
He  scorneth  the  multitude  of  the  city, 
Neither  regardeth  he  the  crying  of  the  driver. 
The  range  of  the  mountains  is  his  pasture. 
And  he  searcheth  after  every  green  thing." 

Job  xxxix,  5-8. 

Nothing  can  be  more  descriptive  than  this  of 
the  wild,  wandering,  lawless  lives  of  the  Be- 
douin Arabs,  whose  descent  from  Ishmael  is 
admitted  by  the  learned,  and  gloried  in  by 
themselves.  God  himself  has  sent  them  out 
free ;  he  has  loosed  them  from  all  political  re- 
straint. The  wilderness  is  their  habitation,  and 
in  the  parched  land,  where  no  other  human  be- 
ings could  live,  they  have  their  dwellings.  Claim- 
ing the  barren  plains  of  Arabia  as  their  patrimo- 
nial domain,  they  have,  from  the  days  of  their 
great  ancestor,  down  to  the  present  time,  ranged 
the  wide  extent  of  the  burning  sands  which 
separate  them  from  all  surrounding  nations,  as 
rude,  savage,  and  intractable  as  the  wild  ass 
himself  Theij  scorn  the  city,  and  therefore 
have  no  fixed  habitation.  "  It  is  in  the  lonely 
wilderness  and  the  rugged  mountains  that  their 
attachments  centre  ;  because  it  is  there  that 
they  can  live  without  ceremony  and  without 


65 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 


control.  Their  sterile  sands  are  dearer  to  them 
than  the  spicy  regions  of  the  south,  and  they 
would  consider  the  security  of  cities  but  a  poor 
compensation  for  the  loss  of  their  indepen- 
dence.    The  tent*  they  regard  as  the  nursery 


*  The  common  Arab  tent  is  of  an  oblong  figure,  vary- 
ing in  size  according  to  the  wants  or  rank  of  the  owner. 
A  length  of  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet,  by  a  depth  or 
breadth  not  exceeding  ten  feet,  form  the  dimensions  of  a 
rather  large  family  tent.  The  height  of  the  centre  poles, 
which  are  made  higher  than  the  others,  in  order  to  give  a 
slope  to  throw  off  the  rain,  varies  from  seven  to  ten  feet ; 
but  the  height  of  the  side  posts  seldom  exceeds  five  or  six 
feet.  The  covering  of  the  tent  is  usually  black  goat's 
hair,  so  compactly  woven  as  to  be  impervious  to  the 
heaviest  rain  ;  but  the  side  coverings  are  often  of  coarse 
wool.  The  front  of  the  tent  is  usually  kept  open,  except 
in  winter.  The  interior  is  divided  into  two  apartments  by 
a  curtain  hung  up  against  the  middle  poles  of  the  tent. 
One  of  these  apartments  is  for  the  men,  and  one  for  the  wo- 
men.   Sometimes  there  is  a  third  apartment  for  the  cattle 


SCRIPTUJIE    PROPHECY.  53 

of  every  noble  quality,  and  the  desert  as  the 
only  residence  worthy  of  men  who  aspire  to  be 
the  unfettered  masters  of  their  own  actions. 
They  cannot  imagine  how  existence  can  be 
endured,  much  less  enjoyed,  except  in  a  dwell- 
ing of  goat's  hair  which  they  can  pitch  and  re- 
move at  pleasure."*  They  may  be  said  to  have 
no  lands,  and  yet  the  range  of  the  mountains  is 
their  pasture ;  they  pitch  their  tents  and  feed 
their  flocks  wherever  they  please  ;  and  they 
search  after  every  green  thing — are  continually 
looking  after  prey,  and  seize  on  every  kind  of 
property  that  comes  within  their  reach. 

"  Even  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  epithet 
*  wild,' "  observes  the  editor  of  the  Pictorial 
Bible,  "  there  is  no  other  people  to  whom  it 
can  be  applied  with  more  propriety  than  to  the 
Arabs,  whether  used  in  reference  to  their  cha- 
racter, mode  of  life,  or  place  of  habitation.  We 
have  seen  something  of  the  Arabs  and  their 
life,  and  always,  we  felt  the  word  wild  to  be  pre- 
cisely that  by  which  we  should  choose  to  cha- 
racterize them.  Their  chosen  dwelling  place 
is  the  inhospitable  desert,  which  offers  no  at- 
tractions to  other  eyes,  but  which  is  all  the  dearer 
to  them  for  that  desolation,  inasmuch  as  it  se- 
cures to  them  that  independence  and  unfetter- 
*  Chricton. 


54  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

ed  liberty  of  action  which  constitute  the  charm 
of  their  existence,  and  which  render  the  minute 
boundaries  and  demarcations  of  settled  dis- 
tricts, and  the  restraints  and  limitations  of 
towns  and  cities  perfectly  hateful  in  their  sight. 
The  simplicity  of  their  tented  habitations,  their 
dress,  and  their  diet,  we  can  also  characterize 
by  no  more  fitting  epithet  than  '  wild ;'  and  that 
epithet  claims  a  still  more  definite  application 
when  we  come  to  examine  their  continual  wan 
derings  with  their  flocks  and  herds,  their  con- 
stant readiness  for  action,  and  their  frequent 
predatory  excursions  against  strangers  or  against 
each  other." 

Except  in  the  article  of  religion,  their  man- 
ners and  customs  have  suflered  little  or  no 
change  during  the  long  period  of  upward  of 
three  thousand  years.  Their  manner  of  living, 
in  many  respects,  forms  a  perfect  picture  of 
primitive  usages,  as  described  by  the  sacred 
writers.  Coming  among  them  we  can  hardly 
help  fancying  ourselves  carried  back  to  the  ages 
which  immediately  succeeded  the  flood.  "  The 
forms  we  see  present  us  the  picture  of  the  old 
patriarchs  with  scarcely  a  single  alteration.  We 
may  listen  to  their  language,  number  their  pos- 
sessions, partake  of  their  food,  examine  their 
dress,  enter  their  tents,  attend  the  ceremonies 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  55 

of  their  marriage  festivals,  and  present  ourselves 
before  the  prince,  still  all  is  the  same.  At  the 
well  they  water  their  flocks ;  they  sit  at  the 
door  of  their  tents  in  the  cool  of  the  day ;  they 
take  '  butter,  and  milk,  and  the  calf  which  they 
have  dressed,'  and  set  it  before  the  stranger ; 
they  move  onward  to  some  distant  place,  and 
pitch  their  tent  near  richer  pasturage  ;  and  all 
the  treasures  they  possess  are  in  camels,  kine, 
sheep,  and  goats,  men  servants  and  women 
servants,  and  changes  of  raiment;  we  may 
stand  near  one  of  their  encampments,  and  as 
the  aged  men  sit  in  dignity,  or  the  young  men 
and  maidens  drive  past  us  their  flocks,  we  are 
almost  ready  to  ask  if  such  a  one  be  not  Abra- 
ham, or  Lot,  or  Jacob,  or  Job,  or  Bildad  the 
Shuhite,  or  Rebekah,  or  Rachel,  or  the  daugh- 
ter of  Jethro,  the  Midianite  ;  we  seem  to  know 
them  all.  The  mountains,  and  valleys,  and 
streams  partake  of  the  same  unchangeable- 
ness ;  not  a  stone  has  been  removed,  not  a 
barrier  has  been  raised,  not  a  tree  has  been 
planted,  not  a  village  has  been  collected  to- 
gether. The  founder  of  the  race  might  come 
again  to  the  earth,  and  he  would  recognize, 
without  effort,  his  own  people  and  his  own 
land."  * 

*  Hardy's  Tra  els  in  the  Holy  Land,  etc. 


^6  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

His  hand  will  be  against  every  man,  and  every 
man's  hand  against  him. — Bearing  in  mind  what 
has  already  been  said  respecting  the  collective 
import  of  the  name  Ishmael  in  this  prediction,* 
we  can  have  no  difficulty  in  understanding  this 
as  a  declaration  that  his  posterity  should  exist 
in  a  state  of  perpetual  hostility  to  the  rest  of 
mankind.  And  there  is  certainly  no  people  to 
whom  this  applies  with  greater  truth  than  to  the 
Arabs ;  for  there  is  none  of  whom  aggression 
on  all  the  world  is  so  remarkably  characteris- 
tic, f  In  the  words  of  Gibbon,  which  strikingly 
correspond  with  those  of  the  prophecy,  "they  are 
armed  against  mankind."  They  have  all  along 
infested  Arabia  and  the  neighbouring  countries 
with  their  robberies  and  incursions.  "  Plun- 
der, in  fact,  forms  their  principal  occupation, 
and  takes  the  chief  place  in  their  thoughts  ; 
and  their  aggressions  upon  settled  districts, 
upon  travellers,  and  even  upon  other  tribes  of 
their  own  people,  are  undertaken  and  prose- 
cuted with  a  feeling  that  they  have  a  right  to 
what  they  seek,  and  therefore  without  the  least 
sense  of  degradation.  They  have  reduced 
robbery  to  a  science,  and  digested  its  various 
branches  into  a  complete  and  regular  system.":]: 
"  They  regard  the  profession  as  honourable,  and 
*  See  page  43.        t  Bush.        t  Pictorial  Bible. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  57 

/he  character  of  a  successful  and  enterprising 
robber  invests  a  Bedouin  with  as  high  a  dis- 
tinction in  his  own  eyes,  and  in  the  eyes  of  his 
people,  as  the  most  chivalrous  acts  would  win 
among  the  nations  of  Europe.  The  plundering 
of  a  solitary  traveller  is  in  their  eyes  as  much 
a  military  exploit,  as  the  sacking  of  a  town,  or 
the  reduction  of  a  province."*  "  They  rob  in- 
discriminately, enemies,  friends,  and  neigh- 
bours. It  is  no  protection  to  speak  the  same 
language,  or  to  profess  the  same  religion.  The 
caravan  on  its  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  is  consider- 
ed to  offer  as  lawful  a  booty  as  the  bales  of  the 
rich  merchant,  or  the  stores  of  the  infidel 
stranger."!  Travellers  crossing  the  desert  are 
compelled  to  go  armed,  in  large  companies  or 
caravans,  and  to  keep  watch  and  guard  like  a 
little  army,  and  then  they  scarcely  ever  escape 
being  plundered  :  even  when  they  procure  the 
services  of  one  of  the  Arabs  as  a  guide,  it  only 
ensures  them  protection  from  the  assaults  of 
the  tribe  to  which  the  guide  belongs. 

This  plundering  life  they  justify  "  by  alleg- 
ing the  hard  usage  of  their  father  Ishmael,  who, 
being  turned  out  of  doors  by  Abraham,  had, 
they  say,  the  open  plains  and  deserts  given 
him  by  God  for  his  patrimony,  with  permission 
*  Chricton.  t  Hardy. 


58  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

to  take  whatever  he  could  find  there.  And  on 
this  account  they  think  they  may,  with  a  safe 
conscience,  indemnify  themselves  as  well  as 
they  can,  not  only  on  the  descendants  of  Isaac, 
but  on  every  body  else ;  always  supposing  a 
sort  of  kindred  between  themselves  and  those 
they  plunder.  And  in  relating  adventures  of 
this  kind,  they  think  it  sufficient  to  change  the 
expression,  and  instead  of  saying,  *  I  robbed  a 
man  of  such  and  such  a  thing,'  to  say,  '  I  gain- 
ed it.'  "*  But  they  do  not  confine  their  preda- 
tory excursions  to  the  desert :  they  make  fre- 
quent hostile  inroads  in  the  neighbouring  coun- 
tries, to  supply  those  wants  which  the  recesses 
of  the  desert  have  denied.  "  The  poverty  of 
their  own  land  is  with  them  an  honourable  ex- 
cuse for  relieving  their  necessities  at  the  ex- 
pense of  their  wealthier  neighbours.  They 
affirm  that  in  the  division  of  the  earth,  the  rich 
and  fertile  parts  were  assigned  to  other  branch- 
es of  the  human  family ;  and  that  the  descend- 
ants of  the  outlaw,  whose  hand  was  to  be 
against  every  man,  may  recover,  by  force,  the 
hereditary  portion  of  which  they  have  been 
unjustly  deprived."! 

This  character  of  the  Arabs,  which  is  con- 

*  Sale's  Preliminary  Dissertation  to  the  Koran, 
t  Chricton. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  59 

firmed  by  ancient  history,  and  by  every  modem 
writer  who  has  traversed  their  wide  and  barren 
wilds,  is  of  itself  sufficient  to  verify  the  predic- 
tion of  the  text.  But  besides  this,  the  different 
tribes  are  continually  at  variance  among  them- 
selves. Burckhardt  assures  us  that  there  are 
few  tribes  which  are  ever  in  a  state  of  perfect 
peace  with  all  their  neighbours,  and  adds,  that 
he  could  not  recollect  this  to  be  the  case  with 
any  one  among  the  numerous  tribes  with  which 
he  was  acquainted.  These  wars,  however,  are 
seldom  of  long  duration  ;  peace  is  easily  made, 
but  broken  again  upon  the  slightest  pretences. 
This  dark  side  of  the  Arab  character  has  a 
beautiful  contrast  in  their  well  known  hospi- 
tality. The  moment  the  fierce  marauder  ceases 
to  be  in  a  state  of  war,  he  becomes  quite  an- 
other man.  The  hungry  Bedouin  always  di- 
vides his  scanty  meal  with  a  still  more  hungry 
wanderer.  The  traveller  who  seeks  his  pro- 
tection, or  confides  in  his  honour,  he  entertains 
without  inquiry,  or  the  hope  of  remuneration, 
lie  regards  him  not  merely  as  a  guest,  but  as 
a  member  of  the  family,  and  when  he  departs 
he  is  dismissed  with  blessings,  perhaps  with 
gifts.  So  long  as  he  remains,  his  life  and  pro- 
perty are  secure  ;  and  should  a  robbery  occur, 
the  host,  if  he  possesses  the  means,  will  in- 


60  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

demnify  him  for  whatever  loss  he  may  incur 
while  under  his  protection.  The  hospitality 
of  the  x\rabs  was  greatly  extolled  in  ancient 
times,  and  those  of  the  present  day  exercise 
this  virtue  no  less  than  their  ancestors  did.* 

And  he  shall  dwell  in  the  presence  of  all  his 
brethren. — The  word  translated  "  dwell,"  signi- 
fies literally  to  tabernacle,  and  refers  to  the 
practice  of  dwelling  in  tents,  which  has  almost 
universally  prevailed  among  the  descendants 
of  Ishmael,  and  to  which  there  is  an  allusion  in 
Isaiah  xiii,  20.  The  meaning  of  the  passage, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  previous  declara- 
tion, "  He  shall  be  a  wild  man,"  imdoubtedly 
is,  that  the  posterity  of  Ishmael,  notwithstand- 
ing the  constant  hostility  subsisting  between 
them  and  other  nations,  should  maintain  a  per- 
petual independence,  and  should  continue  to 
pitch  their  tents  "  in  the  presence,"  or  in  the 
face  "  of  all  their  brethren,"  in  spite  of  all  at- 
tempts to  conquer  or  dispossess  them ;  and  no- 
thing is  more  notorious  than  that  they  have 
never  been  effectually  subdued ;  although  con- 
tinually annoying  the  surrounding  countries  with 
their  predatory  incursions,  yet  every  attempt  to 
extirpate  them  has  proved  abortive,  and  they 
*  Chricton. — ^Niebuhr. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  6) 

are  at  present,  and  have  continued  from  the  re- 
motest ages,  a  separate,  free,  independent,  and 
invincible  nation. 

The  country  in  which  they  dwell  lies  be- 
tween Egypt  and  Assyria,  yet  they  were  never 
subject  to  either  of  those  powerful  nations.  Se- 
sostris,  the  most  renowned  monarch  that  ever 
swayed  the  sceptre  of  Egypt,  who,  in  the  pride 
of  his  power,  caused  his  chariot  to  be  drawn 
by  conquered  kings,  who  were  yoked  to  it  like 
beasts  of  burden,  was  compelled,  as  Diodorus 
Siculus  informs  us,  to  draw  a  line  of  defence 
across  the  Isthmus  of  Suez,  to  secure  his  terri- 
tory from  the  incessant  depredations  of  the 
Arabs  and  Syrians.  The  Assyrians,  Medes, 
and  Persians  found  them  alike  invincible.  Cam- 
byses,  when  he  invaded  Egypt,  was  obliged  to 
obtain  permission  of  the  Arabs  to  pass  through 
their  dominions ;  and  Cyrus,  the  deliverer  of 
the  Jews,  and  the  conquerer  of  Babylon,  could 
never  impose  conditions  on  this  free,  independ- 
ent people.  Herodotus,  the  historian  who 
lived  nearest  those  times,  expressly  states  that 
"the  Arabs  were  never  reduced  by  the  Per- 
sians to  the  condition  of  subjects,  but  were  con- 
sidered by  them  as  friends,  and  opened  to  them 
a  passage  into  Egypt,  which  without  their 
assistance  would   have  been  utterly  impracti- 


62  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

cable."  And  in  another  place  he  says,  that 
"  while  Phenicia,  Palestine,  Syria,  and  all  the 
neighbouring  countries  were  taxed,  the  Arabian 
territory  remained  free  from  paying  any  tri- 
bute." Some  time  after  we  find  them  assist- 
ing the  Egyptians  against  the  Persians ;  so 
that  they  appear  to  have  acted  as  friends  or 
enemies  to  the  Persians,  as  it  suited  their  in- 
terests or  inclinations.* 

Alexander  the  Great,  who  overturned  the 
Persian  empire,  and  conquered  Asia,  never 
stretched  his  powerful  sceptre  over  the  wan- 
dering tribes  of  the  desert.  When  other  na- 
tions sent  embassies  of  submission,  the  Arabs 
alone  disdained  to  acknowledge  the  conqueror, 
and  despised  his  menaces.  Mortified  at  their 
indifference,  and  determined  to  chastise  their 
presumption,  he  raised  a  prodigious  force  ;  but 
death  interposed  ;  in  the  very  midst  of  his  pur- 
poses Alexander  was  cut  off,  and  the  Arabs 
thus  escaped  the  fury  of  his  arms,  and  were 
never  subdued  by  any  of  his  successors.  We 
find  them  afterward,  sometimes  at  peace  and 
sometimes  at  war  with  the  neighbouring  states  ; 
sometimes  joining  the  Syrians,  and  sometimes 
the  Egyptians ;  sometimes  assisting  the  Jews, 
and  sometimes  plundering  them;  and  in  all 
*  Newton  on  the  Prophecies. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  63 

respects  acting  like  a  free  people  who  neither 
feared  nor  courted  any  foreign  power  what- 
ever.* 

In  the  course  of  time  the  sceptre  of  the  world 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Romans :  but 
while  they  subjected  all  other  nations,  they 
were  never  able  to  reduce  Arabia  to  a  Roman 
province,  although  at  different  periods  of  their 
power  they  made  several  attempts  to  do  so. 
The  flatterers  of  Trajan  have,  it  is  true,  num- 
bered among  his  exploits,  the  subjugation  of 
all  Arabia  and  part  of  India,  and  coins  were 
actually  struck  in  commemoration  of  these  ex- 
ploits ;  but  the  most  he  was  able  to  accomplish 
was  the  reduction  of  a  few  individual  tribes ; 
the  great  body  of  the  Arabs  still  continued  with 
impunity  to  make  incursions  and  depredations 
in  Syria  and  the  other  Roman  provinces,  and 
eluded  the  vengeance  of  their  enemies  by  re- 
tiring within  those  natural  barriers  of  rocks  and 
sand  which  bade  defiance  to  their  pursuers. 
"  The  Roman  eagle,  which  spread  her  resist- 
less pinions  over  all  countries,  and  which 
neither  the  storms  of  the  north  coidd  terrify, 
nor  the  supposed  barriers  of  the  world  confine, 
found  no  rest  for  the  sole  of  its  foot  on  the 
barren  sands  of  Arabia,  and  returned  unsuc- 
*  Newton. — Oollyer. 


64  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  * 

cessful  from  the  pursuit  of  the  rough  sons  of 
Ishmael." 

We  have  thus  seen  that  the  Arabs  escaped  the 
yoke  of  the  most  powerful  nations  of  antiquity. 
Whoever  were  the  conquerers  of  Asia,  they  re- 
mained free  ;  and  they  have  transmitted  their 
independence  unimpaired  to  the  present  times. 
The  descendants  of  the  "  wild  man"  still  spurn 
the  chains  of  a  foreign  conqueror.  The  Turks 
have  now  been  for  several  centuries  masters 
of  the  adjacent  countries  ;  but  their  jurisdiction 
has  never  been  acknowledged  by  the  Arabs, 
and  they  are  so  little  able  to  restrain  the  depre- 
dations of  these  fierce  wanderers,  that  they  are 
compelled  to  pay  them  a  sort  of  tribute,  in  order 
to  ensure  the  safe  passage  of  the  pilgrims  who 
annually  go  in  great  companies  or  caravans  to 
Mecca,  and  whom,  after  all,  they  frequently 
plunder  with  impunity. 

But  notwithstanding  the  united  testimonies 
of  ancient  and  modem  history  in  favour  of  the 
uninterrupted  freedom  of  the  posterity  of  Ish- 
mael, one  writer  has  attempted  to  bring  the 
alleged  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  into  dis- 
credit. Mr.  Gibbon,  unwilling  to  pass  by  an 
opportunity  of  cavilling  at  divine  revelation, 
observes,  "  The  perpetual  independence  of  the 
Arabs  has   been  the  theme  of  praise  among 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  65 

strangers  and  natives ;  and  the  arts  of  contro- 
versy transform  this  singular  event  into  a  pro- 
phecy and  a  miracle,  in  favour  of  the  posterity 
of  Ishmael.  Some  exceptions,  that  can  neither 
be  dissembled  nor  eluded,  render  this  mode  of 
reasoning  as  indiscreet  as  it  is  superfluous  :  the 
kingdom  of  Yemen  has  been  successfully  sub- 
dued by  the  Abyssinians,  the  Persians,  the  sul- 
tans of  Egypt,  and  the  Turks :  the  holy  cities 
of  Mecca  and  Medina  have  repeatedly  bowed 
under  a  Scythian  tyrant ;  and  the  Roman  pro- 
vince of  Arabia  embraced  the  peculiar  wilder- 
ness in  which  Ishmael  and  his  sons  must  have 
pitched  their  tent  in  the  face  of  all  their  bre- 
thren." For  a  full  reply  to  these  unqualified 
assertions,  we  need  refer  to  no  other  writer 
than  Mr.  Gibbon  himself,  who,  by  the  conces- 
sion which  he  is  compelled  to  make  upon  the 
truth  of  an  historian,  furnishes  a  complete  re- 
futation to  his  own  objections.  In  the  pas- 
sage immediately  following  the  one  we  have 
just  quoted,  without  the  intervention  of  a  single 
sentence,  he  says,  "  Yet  these  exceptions  are 
temporary  or  local ;  the  body  of  the  nation  has 
escaped  the  yoke  of  the  most  powerful  mo- 
narchies ;  the  arms  of  Sesostris  and  Cyrus,  of 
Pompey  and  Trajan,  could  never  achieve  the  con- 
quest of  Arabia ;  the  present  sovereign  of  the 
5 


66  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

Turks  may  exercise  a  shadow  of  jurisdiction, 
but  his  pride  is  reduced  to  solicit  the  friend- 
ship of  a  people  v^hom  it  is  dangerous  to  pr evoke , 
and  fruitless  to  attack.  The  long  memory  of 
their  independence  is  the  firmest  pledge  of  its 
perpetuity ;  and  succeeding  generations  are  ani- 
mated to  prove  their  descent,  and  to  maintain 
their  inheritance.  Their  domestic  feuds  are 
suspended  on  the  approach  of  a  common  ene- 
my ;  and  in  their  last  hostilities  against  the 
Turks,  the  caravan  of  Mecca  was  attacked  and 
pillaged  by  fourscore  thousand  of  the  confede- 
rates. When  they  advance  to  battle,  the  hope 
of  victory  is  in  their  front,  and  in  the  rear  the 
assurance  of  a  retreat.  Their  horses  and  ca- 
mels, who  in  eight  or  ten  days  can  perform  a 
journey  of  four  or  five  hundred  miles,  disappear 
before  the  conqueror ;  the  secret  waters  of  the 
desert  elude  his  search,  and  his  victorious 
troops  are  consumed  with  thirst,  hunger,  and 
fatigue,  in  the  pursuit  of  an  invisible  foe,  who 
scorns  his  efforts,  and  safely  reposes  in  the 
heart  of  the  burning  solitude."  Yemen  is  the 
only  Arabian  province  which  had  the  appear- 
ance of  submitting  to  a  foreign  yoke  ;  but  even 
here,  as  Mr.  Gibbon  himself  acknowledges, 
seven  of  the  native  princes  remained  unsub- 
dued ;  and  even  admitting  its  subjugation  to  have 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  G7 

been  complete,  the  perpetual  independence  of 
the  Ishmaelites  remains  unimpaired,  for  this  is 
not  their  country. 

The  accounts  given  of  the  Arabs  by  travel- 
lers fully  accord  with  the  prophecy  respecting 
them.  Sandys  remarks,  "  They  dwell  in  tents, 
which  they  remoue,  like  walking  cities,  for 
opportunity  of  prey,  and  benefit  of  pasturage. 
They  acknowledge  no  soueraigne :  not  worth 
the  conquering,  nor  can  they  bee  conquered : 
retiring  to  places  impassable  for  armies,  by 
reason  of  the  rolling  sands,  and  penury  of  all 
things.  A  nation  from  the  beginning  vnmixed 
with  others  :  boasting  of  their  nobilitie,  and  at 
this  day  hating  all  mechanicall  sciences.  They 
hang  about  the  skirts  of  the  habitable  countries  ; 
and  hauing  robbed,  retire  with  a  maruellous 
celerity." 

Volney,  in  his  account  of  the  Bedouins,  ob- 
serves, "  It  is  not  without  reason  that  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  desert  boast  of  being  the  purest 
and  best  preserved  race  of  all  the  Arab  tribes  : 
for  never  have  they  been  conquered,  nor  have  they 
mixed  with  other  people  by  making  conquests ; 
they  have  in  every  respect  retained  their  primi- 
tive independence  and  simplicity.  Every  thing 
that  ancient  history  has  related  of  their  cus- 


#8 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 


toms,  manners,  language,  and  even  their  pre- 
judices, is  almost  minutely  true  of  them  to  this 
day  ;  and  if  we  consider,  besides,  this  unity  of 
character,  preserved  through  such  a  number  of 
ages,  still  subsists,  even  in  the  most  distant 
situations,  that  is,  that  the  tribes  most  distant 
from  each  other  preserve  an  exact  resemblance, 
it  must  be  allowed,  that  the  circumstances 
which  accompany  so  peculiar  a  moral  state  are 
a  subject  of  most  curious  inquiry." 

How  is  it  that  this  remarkable  people  have 
never  changed  their  situation,  or  altered  their 
habits  of  life?  Other  nations  have  not  con- 
tinued the  same.  How  have  the  modem  popu- 
lation of  Egypt,  Italy,  and  Greece,  degenerated 
from  the  powerful  nations  who  formerly  occu- 
pied those  countries  ?  How  are  the  French 
and  English  polished  and  refined  from  the  an- 
cient Gauls  and  Britons  ?  Men  and  manners 
change  with  times,  but  in  all  ages  the  Arabs 
have  continued  essentially  the  same.  The 
character  of  Ishmael  remains  unobliterated  in 
the  features  of  his  descendants,  and,  at  the  close 
of  thirty-seven  centuries,  they  still  continue,  in 
accordance  with  the  prophetic  description,  a 
numerous  people,  living  in  a  state  of  wild  and 
lawless  independence. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  69 

Who  can  fairly  consider  all  these  particulars, 
and  not  see  the  hand  of  God  in  the  whole  affair, 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  It  was  impos- 
sible for  any  human  eye  to  have  pierced  the 
cloud  of  unveiled  time  ;  or  for  any  uninspired 
tongue  to  have  foretold  the  destinies  of  this 
outcast  child,  and  of  his  unborn  descendants. 
But  He  who  collects  into  one  point  of  view 
the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future,  as  scat- 
tered rays  of  light  are  sometimes  collected  in 
a  common  centre,  uttered  the  memorable  pre- 
diction, whose  fulfilment  we  have  just  been 
considering — a  prediction,  the  fulfilment  of 
which  was,  in  the  natural  course  of  events,  so 
highly  improbable,  if  not  altogether  impossible, 
that,  as  nothing  but  a  divine  prescience  could 
have  foreseen  it,  so  nothing  but  a  divine  power 
could  have  brought  it  to  pass.  "  Of  no  other, 
among  all  the  streams  of  population  by  which 
this  earth  has  been  covered,  was  such  a  pro- 
phecy uttered ;  and  of  no  other  would  it  have 
been  true.  The  surrounding  countries  of  Egypt, 
Syria,  and  Persia,  have  once  and  again  changed 
their  rulers  and  their  race.  Arabia  has  ever 
continued  the  same.  The  march  of  conquest 
has  been  around  her,  but  has  never  penetrated 
into  her  wilds  :  that  which  was  true  of  her  in 
the  time  of  Moses,  has  been  equally  so  in 


70  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

every  subsequent  period  of  time  ;  and  will  still 
continue  until  another  prophecy  be  fulfilled,  and 
even  *  Arabia's  desert  ranger'  shall  bow  before 
the  power  that  is  supreme:  then  the  horse 
shall  no  longer  stand  ready  caparisoned  to  pur- 
sue and  plunder  the  passing  traveller ;  *  Holi 
ness  unto  the  Lord,'  shall  be  inscribed  '  upon 
its  bells ;'  then  shall  Isaac  and  Ishmael  again 
meet  together  in  peace,  to  worship  at  one  altar 
the  God  of  their  fathers,  and  Jesus  Christ 
whom  he  has  sent :  their  hand  shall  be  with 
every  man,  and  every  man's  hand  with  them."* 
♦Hardy, 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  71 


CHAPTER  III. 

PROPHECIES    CONCERNING    THE    JEWS. 

The  purpose  of  God  in  raising-  up  the  Jewish  nation — Their  co- 
venant with  God  at  Sinai — Their  covenant  solemnly  renewed  on 
mounts  Ebal  and  Gerizim — Calamities  which  awaited  them  if  they 
violated  the  commands  of  God — Blessings  promised  in  case  of 
obedience — Moses  foresaw  and  foretold  their  future  apostacy,  and 
the  evils  which  would  consequently  befall  them — They  were  to  be 
invaded  by  a  distant  nation,  who  should  treat  them  with  extreme 
cruelty,  and  take  from  them  all  their  cities— This  prophecy  fully 
accomplished  by  the  Romans— The  miseries  which,  from  famine 
and  other  causes,  they  endured  in  the  course  of  the  war — Great 
numbers  sold  as  slaves,  and  sent  into  Egypt — The  sanctuaries  are 
brought  into  desolation — The  great  body  of  the  people  are  driven 
out  of  their  own  land — The  few  who  remain  there  are  miserably 
oppressed — The  Jews  are  dispersed  among  all  nations. 

No  prophecies  better  deserve  the  attention 
of  the  Biblical  student,  or  more  clearly  esta- 
blish the  truth  of  divine  revelation,  than  those 
respecting  the  Jews,  a  people  raised  up  by  Pro- 
vidence, in  a  time  of  general  apostacy,  to  pre- 
serve, through  the  darkness  of  succeeding  ages, 
the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  God. 

The  waters  of  the  deluge  had  scarce  dried 
up  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  when  the  sons 
of  men  again  began  to  work  iniquity  in  the  sight 
of  their  Maker ;  and  the  venerable  patriarch 
"  who  had  seen  the  whole  human  race,  his  own 
family  excepted,  cut  off  for  their  wickedness, 


72  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

lived  to  see  the  descendants  of  that  family  be- 
come almost  as  nmnerous  and  as  profligate  as 
the  generation  which  had  been  destroyed  by 
the  flood."  That  the  knowledge  of  the  one 
true  God  might  not  be  utterly  banished  from 
the  earth,  the  Lord  determined  to  set  apart  one 
people  to  be  the  witnesses  of  his  grace  and  the 
depositaries  of  his  truth,  that  he  might  thus 
"  preserve  his  testimony  among  the  nations  until 
the  arrival  of  that  *  time  of  refreshing'  which 
he  had  predetermined,  and  the  coming  of  which 
he  made  known  with  increasing  distinctness, 
as  its  date  approached.  To  accomplish  this 
object,  Jehovah  did  not  see  fit  to  make  choice 
of  any  existing  nation,  but  determined  to  give 
a  nation  existence,  to  watch  over  it  from  its 
birth,  subjecting  its  infancy  to  his  guidance  and 
instruction,  and  forming  its  character  with  a 
view  to  the  great  object  of  its  being."* 

The  early  history  of  the  Jewish  nation  is  one 
unbroken  series  of  divine  mterpositions.  At 
the  age  of  seventy-five  years,  Abraham  jour- 
neyed from  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans,  not  know- 
ing whither  he  went,  "  but  obeying  a  divine 
voice  which  called  him  from  among  a  nation  of 
idolaters,  to  become  the  father  of  a  new  peo- 
ple, and  of  a  purer  faith,  at  a  distance  from  his 
♦Pictorial  His*>ry  of  Palestine. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  73 

native  country."  Led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  he 
entered  the  land  of  Canaan,  where  Jehovah  ap- 
peared to  him,  promised  that  he  would  multi- 
ply his  posterity  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  as 
the  sand  upon  the  sea-shore,  and  give  them  that 
land  for  an  inheritance  ;  and  assured  him  that 
in  his  "  seed  should  all  the  families  of  the  earth 
be  blessed,"  Gen.  xii,  7;  xxii,  17,  18.  Two 
hundred  and  fifteen  years  after  this,  his  grand- 
son Jacob,  "  a  Syrian  ready  to  perish,"  with  a 
few  individuals,  went  down  into  Egypt,  where 
his  descendants,  although  "  evil  entreated  and 
afflicted,"  "  became  a  nation  great,  mighty,  and 
populous,"  (Deut.  xxvi,  5,)  and  whence  they 
were  delivered  by  the  special  interposition  of 
Heaven.  Guided  by  "  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day, 
and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night,"  they  proceeded  to 
Mount  Sinai,  where  they  entered  into  a  solemn 
covenant  with  God,  to  serve  and  obey  him. 
Under  circumstances  of  the  most  terrific  gran- 
deur, Jehovah  then  delivered  to  the  people  the 
moral  law,  or  the  ten  commandments  ;  after 
which,  he  communicated  to  Moses  the  laws  by 
which  they  were  to  be  governed  as  a  nation, 
and  the  ceremonies  to  be  observed  in  their  re- 
ligious worship.  Forty  years  they  were  con- 
demned to  wander  in  the  wilderness  as  a  pun- 
ishment for  their  sins,  during  which  time  the 


74  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

Lord  fed  them  with  "  bread  from  heaven  "  and 
"  gave  them  water  out  of  the  flinty  rock." 

When  at  length  they  approached  the  borders 
of  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  viewed,  for  the  first 
time,  their  promised  inheritance,  Moses,  then 
about  to  surrender  at  once  both  his  life  and  his 
trust,  recounted,  in  the  ears  of  the  people,  the 
mercies  of  God  toward  them,  and  the  many  de- 
liverances he  had  wrought  out  for  them.  He 
then  assured  them  that  their  prosperity  in  the 
land  which  they  were  now  about  to  enter,  de- 
pended entirely  upon  their  conformity  to  the 
divine  precepts,  and  urged  upon  them  the  duty 
and  necessity  of  obedience,  as  well  from  a  con- 
sideration of  the  goodness  of  God  and  the  bless- 
ings that  should  follow,  as  from  the  fearful 
judgments  which  awaited  them  in  case  of  their 
apostacy. 

That  these  admonitions  might  make  a  more 
lasting  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  people, 
Moses  directed  Joshua  that  as  soon  as  they  en- 
tered tha  promised  land,  he  should  lead  them 
to  mounts  Ebal  and  Gerizim,  and  there  solemn- 
ly renew  their  covenant  with  God.  Six  of  the 
tribes  were  to  stand  on  the  side  of  mount  Geri- 
zim, and  the  remaining  six  on  mount  Ebal,  op- 
posite, while  the  priests  and  the  Levites,  with 
the  ark  of  the  covenant,  occupied  the  narrow 


S^CRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  75 

valley  between :  when  the  priests  read  from 
the  book  of  the  law  the  blessings  which  should 
be  the  reward  of  their  obedience,  the  tribes  on 
mount  Gerizim  responded,  "  Amen  !"  So  he  it ! 
while  the  tribes  on  the  opposite  mountain  gave 
a  like  response  to  the  curses  which  were 
denounced  on  the  disobedient.  Deut.  xxvii, 
xxviii. 

It  is  impossible  for  human  imagination  to  con- 
ceive a  spectacle  more  imposing,  more  solemn, 
more  likely  to  impress  the  whole  people  with 
deep  and  enduring  awe,  than  this  final  ratifica- 
tion of  their  covenant,  as  directed  by  the  dying 
lawgiver.  In  the  open  day,  and  in  a  theatre,  as 
it  were,  created  by  the  God  of  nature  for  the 
express  purpose,*  after  a  sacrifice  offered  on  an 
altar  of  stones,  the  people  of  Israel  testified  their 
deliberate  acceptance  of  that  constitution  which 
God  had  enacted  for  them.  They  accepted  it 
with  its   inseparable   conditions,  maledictions 

*  "  A  better  situation  for  performing  his  ceremony,'' 
observes  Mr.  Hardy,  "  could  not  be  conceived;  as  the  hills 
are  at  such  a  distance  from  each  other,  that  the  hosts  of 
Israel  might  stand  between  their  summits,  and  the  voice 
from  either  be  heard  distinctly,  on  a  calm  day,  throughout 
the  whole  assembly."  The  two  mountains  are  each  about 
seven  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  are  separated  only  by 
the  narrow  valley  of  Shechem,  which  is  not  more  than  two 
or  three  hundred  paces  broad. 


76  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

the  most  awful,  which  they  imprecated  on  their 
own  heads,  in  case  they  should  violate  its  sta- 
tutes— ^blessings  equally  ample  and  perpetual, 
if  they  should  adhere  to  its  holy  and  salutary 
provisions.*  When  the  countless  multitudes 
which  thronged  the  ascent  of  either  mountain, 
with  one  voice  responded  the  loud  "Amen!" 
as  the  blessings  and  curses  were  severally  pro- 
nounced by  the  priests,  the  full  burst  of  soimd 
"  must  have  reverberated  among  the  hills  with 
true  sublimity,  and  have  ascended  in  majestic 
volume  toward  heaven." 

Having  given  the  necessary  directions  for 
the  performance  of  this  impressive  ceremony, 
Moses  proceeded  to  enlarge  on  the  blessings 
of  obedience  ;  but,  with  a  dark  and  melancholy 
foreboding  of  the  final  destiny  of  his  people,  he 
laid  before  them,  still  more  at  length,  the  fatal 
consequences  of  apostacy  and  wickedness. 
The  sublimity  of  his  denunciations  surpasses 
any  thing  in  the  oratory  or  the  poetry  of  the 
whole  world.  Nature  is  exhausted  in  furnish- 
ing terrific  images  ;  nothing  excepting  the  real 
horrors  of  the  Jewish  history — the  miseries  of 
their  sieges,  the  cruelty,  the  contempt,  the  op- 
pressions, the  persecutions,  which  for  ages  this 
scattered,  and  despised,  and  detested  nation  has 
*Rev.  H.  H.  Millman. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  77 

endured — can  approach  the  tremendous  male- 
dictions which  warned  them  against  the  viola- 
tion of  their  law.*  These  prophetic  denuncia- 
tions are  contained  in  the  twenty-eighth  chapter 
of  Deuteronomy,  from  which  we  give  the  fol- 
lowing extracts : — 

"  It  shall  come  to  pass,  if  thou  wilt  not  hearken 
unto  the  voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  to  observe 
to  do  all  his  commandments, — the  Lord  shall 
cause  thee  to  be  smitten  before  thy  enemies : 
thou  shalt  go  out  one  way  against  them,  and  flee 
seven  ways  before  them :  and  shalt  be  removed 
into  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth. — The  Lord 
shall  smite  thee  with  madness,  and  blindness,  and 
astonishment  of  heart :  and  thou  shalt  grope  at 
noonday,  as  the  blind  gropeth  in  darkness,  and 
thou  shalt  not  prosper  in  thy  ways :  and  thou  shalt 
be  only  oppressed  and  spoiled  evermore,  and  no 
man  shall  save  thee. — Thine  ox  shall  be  slain 
before  thine  eyes,  and  thou  shalt  not  eat  thereof : 
thine  ass  shall  be  violently  taken  away  from 
before  thy  face,  and  shall  not  be  restored  to 
thee ;  thy  sheep  shall  be  given  to  thine  ene- 
mies, and  thou  shalt  have  none  to  rescue  them. 
Thy  sons  and  thy  daughters  shall  be  given  unto 
another  people,  and  thine  eyes  shall  look,  and 
*  Rev.  H  H.  Millman. 


78  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

fail  with  longing  for  them  all  the  day  long. — 
The  fruit  of  thy  land,  and  all  thy  labour,  shall 
a  nation  which  thou  knowest  not  eat  up  ;  and 
thou  shalt  be  only  oppressed  and  crushed  al- 
ways :  so  that  thou  shalt  be  mad  for  the  sight 
of  thine  eyes  which  thou  shalt  see. — The  Lord 
shall  bring  thee,  and  thy  king  which  thou  shalt 
set  over  thee,  unto  a  nation  which  neither  thou 
nor  thy  fathers  have  known ;  and  there  shalt 
thou  serve  other  gods,  wood  and  stone.  And 
thou  shalt  become  an  astonishment,  a  proverb, 
and  a  by- word  among  all  nations  whither  the 
Lord  shall  lead  thee. — The  stranger  that  is  with- 
in thee  shall  get  up  above  thee  very  high  ;  and 
thou  shalt  come  down  very  low.  He  shall  lend  to 
thee,  and  thou  shalt  not  lend  to  him :  he  shall  be 
the  head,  and  thou  shalt  be  the  tail.*  All  these 
curses  shall  come  upon  thee  because  thou  heark- 
enest  not  unto  the  voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God, 
to  keep  his  commandments  ;  and  they  shall  be 

*  The  "  head"  and  the  "  tail"  are  common  forms  of  ex- 
pression in  the  East,  to  denote  the  most  elevated  and  the 
most  degraded  conditions.  Mr.  Roberts,  in  his  Oriental 
Illustrations,  observes,  "  It  is  amusing  to  hear  men  of  rank 
in  the  East  speak  of  their  dependants  as  tails.  Has  a  ser- 
vant not  obeyed  his  master,  the  former  asks,  '  Who  are 
you  1  are  you  the  head  or  the  tail  V  Should  a  person  be- 
gin to  take  food  before  those  of  higher  caste,  it  is  asked, 
*  What,  is  the  tail  to  begin  to  wag  before  the  head  1'  " 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  79 

upon  thee  for  a  sign  and  for  a  wonder,  and  upon 
thy  seed  for  ever.  The  Lord  shall  bring  a 
nation  against  thee  from  far,  from  the  end  of 
the  earth,  as  swift  as  the  eagle  flieth ;  a  nation 
whose  tongue  thou  shalt  not  understand ;  a 
nation  of  fierce  countenance,  which  shall  not 
regard  the  person  of  the  old,  nor  show  favour 
to  the  young. — And  he  shall  besiege  thee  in  all 
thy  gates,  until  thy  high  and  fenced  walls  come 
down,  wherein  thou  trustedst,  throughout  all 
thy  land,  which  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  given 
thee.  And  thou  shalt  eat  the  fruit  of  thine  own 
body,  the  flesh  of  thy  sons  and  of  thy  daugh- 
ters, in  the  siege,  and  in  the  straitness  where- 
with thine  enemies  shall  distress  thee ;  the 
man  that  is  tender  among  you,  and  very  deli- 
cate, his  eye  shall  be  evil  toward  his  brother, 
and  toward  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  and  toward 
the  remnant  of  his  children  which  he  shall 
leave  :  so  that  he  will  not  give  to  any  of  them 
the  flesh  of  his  children  which  he  shall  eat : 
because  he  hath  nothing  left  him  of  the  siege, 
and  in  the  straitness  wherewith  thine  enemies 
shall  distress  thee  in  all  thy  gates.  The  ten- 
der and  delicate  woman  among  you,  which 
would  not  adventure  to  set  the  sole  of  her  foot 
upon  the  ground  for  delicateness  and  tender- 
ness, her  eye  shall  be  evil  toward  the  husband 


80  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECy. 

of  her  bosom,  and  toward  her  son,  and  toward 
her  daughter,  and  toward  her  children  which 
she  shall  bear  :  for  she  shall  eat  them  for  the 
want  of  all  things,  secretly  in  the  siege  and 
slaraitness  wherewith  thine  enemies  shall  dis- 
tress thee. — The  Lord  will  make  thy  plagues 
wonderful,  and  the  plagues  of  thy  seed,  even 
great  plagues,  and  of  long  continuance. — And 
ye  shall  be  left  few  in  number,  whereas  ye 
Were  as  the  stars  of  heaven  for  multitude ;  be- 
cause thou  wouldst  not  obey  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  thy  God. — And  ye  shall  be  plucked  from 
off  the  land  whither  thou  goest  to  possess  it. 
And  the  Lord  shall  scatter  thee  among  all  peo- 
ple, from  one  end  of  the  earth  even  unto  the  otlier. 
— And  among  these  nations  shalt  thou  find  no 
ease,  neither  shall  the  sole  of  thy  foot  have 
rest :  but  the  Lord  shall  give  thee  there  a  trem- 
bling heart, — and  thy  life  shall  hang  in  doubt 
before  thee  ;  and  thou  shalt  have  fear  day  and 
night,  and  shalt  have  none  assurance  of  thy  life. 
In  the  morning  thou  shalt  say,  *  Would  God  it 
were  even!'  and  at  even  thou  shalt  say,  *  Would 
God  it  were  morning!'  for  the  fear  of  thine 
heart  wherewith  thou  shalt  fear,  and  for  the 
sight  of  thine  eyes  which  thou  shalt  see.  And 
the  Lord  shall  bring  thee  again  into  Egypt 
with  ships, — and  there  ye  shall  be  sold  unto 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  81 

your  enemies  for  bondmen  and  bondwomen,  and 
no  man  shall  buy  you." 

Such  were  the  judgments  with  which  Moses, 
by  the  authority  of  God,  threatened  the  Israel- 
ites in  case  of  their  disobedience.  On  the  other 
hand,  corresponding  blessings  were  promised 
if  they  remained  faithful  to  God,  and  kept  their 
covenant  with  him.  "  It  shall  come  to  pass  if 
thou  wilt  hearken  diligently  to  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  thy  God,  to  observe  to  do  all  his  com- 
mandments^  that  the  Lord  thy  God  will  set  theo 
on  high  above  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.—  ' 
The  Lord  shall  cause  thine  enemies  that  rise 
up  against  thee  to  be  smitten  before  thy  face. — - 
The  Lord  shall  make  thee  plenteous  in  goods, 
— and  in  the  fruit  of  thy  ground ; — and  he  shall 
bless  thee  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God 
giveth  thee.  The  Lord  shall  establish  thee  a 
holy  people  unto  himself, — and  all  the  people 
of  the  earth  shall  see  that  thou  art  called  by 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  they  shall  be  afraid 
of  thee." 

Thus  the  national  prosperity  of  the  Israelites 
was  made  to  depend  on  their  obedience  to  God. 
No  attentive  reader  of  the  Bible  can  have  fail- 
ed to  perceive  how  strikingly  this  was  the 
case  through  the  whole  period  of  their  Scrip- 
ture history.  "  If  they  yield  to  disobedience  or 
6 


82  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

idolatry,  the  meanest  of  their  neighbours,  Mo- 
abites,  Midianites,  Amalekites,  even  the  subject 
and  tributary  Canaanites,  can  rise  in  arms  to 
their  discomfiture  and  degradation.  Let  them 
serve  the  Lord  faithfully,  and  *  one'  of  them 
may  '  chase  a  thousand,'  the  *  daughter  of  Zion' 
may  *  shake  her  head'  at  the  countless  hosts  of 
the  *  great  king,  the  king  of  Assyria.'  "* 

The  denunciations  of  Moses  are  to  be  re- 
garded not  merely  as  conditional  threatenings, 
but  as  clear  and  distinct  predictions.  Instruct- 
ed by  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  he  not  only  warn- 
ed the  people  of  the  consequences  of  disobe- 
dience, but  also  foresaw  and  plainly  foretold 
their  future  apostacy  ;  "  I  know,"  said  he,  "  that 
after  my  death  ye  will  utterly  corrupt  your- 
selves, and  turn  aside  from  the  way  which  I 
have  commanded  you ;  and  evil  will  befall  you 
in  the  latter  days ;  because  ye  will  do  evil  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord,  to  provoke  him  to  anger 
with  the  work  of  your  hands,"  Deut.  xxxi,  29. 
See  also  verses  16-21. 

To  notice  all  the  prophecies  of  Scripture  re- 
specting the  Jews,  would  occupy  a  volume, 
and  embrace  the  whole  history  of  that  people 
from  their  first  existence  to  the  present  time ; 
*  Professor  Fausett. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  83 

we  shall,  therefore,  give  our  attention  chiefly 
to  some  of  the  most  striking  prophecies  of 
Moses,  which,  although  partially  fulfilled  in 
every  apostacy  and  calamity  of  the  Jews,  and 
especially  in  their  subjection  by  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, yet  refer  more  directly  to  their  final  and 
fearful  overthrow  by  the  Romans,  and  their 
subsequent  dispersion  over  the  face  of  the 
whole  earth.  In  our  notices  of  these  predic- 
tions, we  shall  take  them  up  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible in  the  order  of  their  fulfilment. 

"  The  Lord  shall  bring  a  nation  against  thee 
from  far^  from  the  end  of  the  earth,  as  swift  as 
the  eagle  flieth,  a  nation  whose  tongue  thou  shalt 
not  understand^ — A  description  very  similar  to 
this  is  given  of  the  Chaldeans  by  Jeremiah : — 
"  Lo,  I  will  bring  a  nation  upon  you  from  far, 
O  house  of  Israel,  saith  the  Lord : — a  nation 
whose  language  thou  knowest  not,  neither  un- 
derstandest  what  they  say,"  Jer.  v,  15.  He 
also  compares  them  to  eagles  : — "  Our  perse- 
cutors are  swifter  than  the  eagles  of  heaven," 
Lam.  iv,  19.  But  the  description  of  Moses,  in 
its  full  extent,  can  be  applied  to  none  of  the  in- 
vaders of  Judea  with  so  much  propriety  as  to 
the  Romans.  They  truly  came  "  from  far,  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth."     The  soldiers  compos- 


84  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

ing  the  armies  with  which  they  subdued  Pales- 
tine were  mostly  from  Gaul,*  Spain,  and  Bri- 
tain, countries  which  formed  the  limits  of 
the  then  known  world.  The  Roman  generals, 
Vespasian  and  Adrian,  who  were  the  two  great- 
est instruments  in  the  destruction  of  the  Jews, 
both  came  for  that  purpose  from  Britain,  which 
in  those  days  was  considered  and  denominated 
the  end  of  the  earth.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  the 
soldiers  of  Cesar  were  unwilling  to  follow  him 
to  the  conquest  of  Britain,  because  they  ima- 
gined that  he  was  passing  the  limits  of  the 
world.  The  "  eagle"  was  the  standard  of  the 
Roman  armies,  and  the  flight  of  that  bird  was 
an  apt  and  forcible  representation  of  the  rapidi- 
ty of  their  conquests.  The  language  of  the  Ro- 
mans, too,  was  far  more  unintelligible  to  the 
Jews  than  was  that  of  the  Chaldeans :  Dr.  A. 
Clarke  says  that  the  Latin  tongue  is  more  for- 
eign than  any  other  to  the  structure  and  idiom 
of  the  Hebrew. 

The  invaders  of  Judea  are  further  character- 
ized as  "  flj  nation  of  fierce  countenance,^  which 

*  The  ancient  name  of  France. 

t  This  expression  will  remind  the  historical  reader  df 
the  language  of  Pyrrhus,  king  of  Epirus,  who,  after  an 
engagement  in  which  he  obtained  a  victory  over  the  Ro- 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  85 

shall  not  regard  the  person  of  the  old,  nor  show 
favour  to  the  young.'''' — This  was  true  of  both 
the  Chaldeans  and  the  Romans  in  their  treat- 
ment of  the  conquered  Jews.  Of  the  former  it 
is  said  that  they  "  slew  their  young  men  with 
the  sword, — and  had  no  compassion  upon  young 
man  or  maiden,  old  man  or  him  that  stooped 
with  age,"  2  Chron.  xxxvi,  17.  The  Romans 
were  of  a  haughty,  warlike  spirit,  but  the  his- 
tory of  their  conduct  toward  other  nations  fur- 
nishes no  parallel  to  the  inflexible,  unrelenting, 
indiscriminate  cruelty  which  they  exercised 
toward  the  Jews.  When  they  took  Gadara, 
"  they  slew  all  the  youth,  having  no  mercy  on 
any  age  whatever."*  On  the  capture  of  Japha, 
"  after  the  fighting  men  were  killed,  they  cut 
the  throats  of  the  rest  of  the  multitude,  partly  in 
the  open  air,  partly  in  their  own  houses,  both 
young  and  old ;  so  that  there  were  no  males 
remaining  except  infants,  who,  with  the  women, 
were  carried  as  slaves  into  captivity."!  The 
whole  number  killed  in  the  fight  and  the  sub- 
mans,  was  walking  about  the  field  of  battle  ;  and  seeing 
the  wounds  of  the  Romans  all  in  front,  and  marking  the 
fierceness  of  their  countenance,  preserved  even  in  death, 
he  exclaimed,  that  if  he  had  such  soldiers  he  would  subdue 
the  world. — Colly er^s  Lectures. 

*  Josephus,  Wars,  book  iii,  chap.  7.  f  Ibid. 


86  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

sequent   slaughter   amounted   to  fifteen  thou- 
sand. 

The  inhabitants  of  Jotapata,  to  the  number 
of  forty  thousand,  met  with  a  similar  fate.*  On 
taking  Tarichea,  Vespasian  gave  the  inhabit- 
ants an  assurance  that  their  lives  should  be 
spared,  but  compelled  them  to  leave  the  place, 
and  go  to  Tiberias,  where,  in  violation  of  his 
promise,  he  barbarously  slew  all  the  "  old  men, 
together  with  others  that  were  useless,  who 
were  in  number  twelve  hundred."  Of  the  re- 
mainder, upward  of  thirty  thousand  were  sold 
as  slaves.!  When  they  took  Gamala,  they 
slew  all  the  inhabitants  they  found  in  it,  with- 
out regard  to  age  or  sex ;  they  spared  not  so 
much  as  the  infants,  of  whom  many  were  flung 
down  by  them  from  the  citadel.  None  escaped 
except  two  women  who  hid  themselves.^ 

**  Patient  submission  and  resistance  met 
One  common  fate  :  the  snowy  locks  of  age 
In  dust  and  gore  lay  clotted  :  nor  the  blush 
That  mantled  on  the  lovely  virgin's  cheek, 
Alternate  yielding  to  the  paly  hue 
Of  blanching  fear ;  nor  the  mute  eloquence 
Of  helpless  infancy,  that  playful  smiled 
In  its  destroyer's  face,  could  mercy  find." 

The  Jews  in  Palestine  were  not  the  only  suf- 

*  Josephus,  Wars,  book  iii,  chap.  7.         t  Ibid. 
t  Ibid.,  book  iv,  chap.  1. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  87 

ferers  in  this  war.  At  Alexandria,  in  Egypt,  a 
conflict  arose  between  the  Jews  and  the  other 
inhabitants  of  that  city,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  Roman  governor  sent  two  legions  of  soldiers 
and  five  thousand  other  troops  to  attack  the 
quarter  of  the  city  in  which  the  Jews  resided, 
with  orders  to  slay  the  people  and  set  fire  to 
their  houses.  "  The  soldiers  did  as  they  were 
bidden ; — no  mercy  was  shown  to  the  infants, 
and  no  regard  had  to  the  aged ;  but  they  went 
on  in  the  slaughter  of  persons  of  every  age,  till 
all  the  place  was  overflowed  with  blood,  and 
fifty  thousand  of  them  lay  dead  upon  heaps."* 

"  And  he  shall  besiege  thee  in  all  thy  gates, 
until  thy  high  and  fenced  walls  come  down,  wherein 
thou  trustedst,  in  all  thy  landJ^ — The  cities  of  the 
Jews  were  mostly  built  in  commanding  posi- 
tions, and  strongly  defended  by  art.  This  was 
especially  the  case  with  Samaria  and  Jerusa- 
lem, which,  in  the  ancient  mode  of  warfare, 
were  considered  almost  impregnable.  But 
strong  natural  positions  and  massive  fortifica- 
tions could  not  protect  an  ungodly  people  from 
the  threatened  judgments  of  the  Almighty. 
When  Israel  forsook  the  Lord,  her  defence  de- 
parted from  her,  and  her  strong  cities  fell  into 
*  Josephus,  "Wars,  book  ii,  chap.  18. 


88  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

the  hands  of  her  enemies.  "  In  the  reign  of  Ho- 
shea,  king  of  Israel,  Shalmaneser,  king  of  Assy- 
ria, came  up  against  Samaria,  and  besieged  it ; 
and  at  the  end  of  three  years  they  took  it :  and  the 
king  of  Assyria  did  carry  away  all  Israel  unto 
Assyria ; — ^because  they  obeyed  not  the  voice 
of  the  Lord  their  God,  but  transgressed  his  co- 
venant, and  all  that  Moses,  the  servant  of  the 
Lord,  commanded,"  2  Chron.  xviii,  9-12.  In 
the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  king  of  Judah,  Jeru- 
salem, after  a  siege  of  two  years,  was  taken 
by  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  brake  down  its  walls, 
and  carried  the  people  of  Judah  into  captivity. 
And  finally,  when  the  Jews  had  filled  the  mea- 
sure of  their  iniquity,  by  rejecting  and  crucify- 
ing the  Saviour,  the  Romans  under  Titus,  and 
afterward  under  Adrian,  "  came  and  took  away 
their  place  and  nation."  Every  fortress  was 
reduced,  every  city  was  taken,  the  walls  of  Je- 
rusalem were  broken  down,  and  the  city  utterly 
destroyed  ;  and  since  that  period  the  Jews  have 
never  possessed  a  town  or  a  strong  hold  in 
their  native  land. 

The  prophecy  then  goes  on  to  show  the  ex- 
tremities of  famine  to  which,  in  the  course  of 
these  sieges,  the  people  would  be  reduced. 
"  And  thou  shall  eat  the  fruit  of  thine  own  body^ 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  89 

the  flesh  of  thy  sons  and  of  thy  daughters,  in  the 
siege,  and  in  the  straitness  v)herewith  thine  ene- 
mies shall  distress  theeP — ^This  terrible  denun- 
ciation has  been  more  than  once  fulfilled.  Six 
hundred  years  after  the  time  of  Moses,  Samaria, 
the  metropolis  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  en- 
dured the  first  of  those  dreadful  sieges  by  which 
the  two  capitals  of  the  Jewish  kingdoms  ap- 
pear, by  some  awful  fatality,  to  have  been  dis- 
tinguished beyond  all  the  other  cities  of  the 
world.  So  great  was  the  famine  in  the  city  on 
this  occasion,  that  the  most  worthless  substi- 
tutes for  food  were  sold  at  an  enormous  price, 
and  a  woman  "  boiled  her  son  and  did  eat  him," 
2  Kings  vi,  24-29.  Jeremiah  pathetically  de- 
scribes the  horrors  of  the  famine  in  Jerusalem 
when  it  was  besieged  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  and 
closes  his  description  by  saying,  "  The  hands 
of  pitiful  women  have  sodden  their  own  chil- 
dren ;  they  were  their  meat  in  the  destruction 
of  the  daughter  of  my  people,"  Lam.  iv,  3-10. 
But  the  unparalleled  sufferings  of  the  Jews  by 
famine  during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus, 
far  exceed  any  thing  of  the  kind  which  they, 
or  any  other  people,  ever  before  endured.  The 
account  is  given  by  Josephus,  who  was  him- 
self present  at  the  siege.  He  says, — "  The 
famine  overcame  all  other  passions ;"  filial  re- 


90  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

verence  and  parental  affection  were  alike  for- 
gotten ;  "  children  snatched  from  the  mouths 
of  their  fathers  the  very  food  they  were  eating  ; 
and  what  was  still  more  to  be  pitied,  the  mo- 
thers did  the  same  as  to  their  infants ;  and 
when  those  that  were  most  dear  were  perish- 
ing under  their  hands,  they  were  not  ashamed 
to  take  from  them  the  very  last  drops  that  might 
preserve  their  lives."*  "  If  so  much  as  the 
shadow  of  any  kind  of  food  did  anywhere  ap- 
pear, a  war  was  presently  commenced,  and  the 
dearest  friends  fell  to  fighting  one  with  another 
about  it,  snatching  from  each  other  the  most 
miserable  supports  of  life."t  "  Famine  devour- 
ed the  people  by  whole  houses  and  families : 
the  upper  rooms  were  full  of  women  and  chil- 
dren that  were  dying  of  hunger,  and  the  lanes 
of  the  city  were  full  of  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
aged ;  the  children  and  the  young  men  wander- 
ed about  the  market-places  like  shadows,  all 
swelled  with  the  famine,  and  fell  down  dead 
wheresoever  their  misery  seized  them.":j: — 
"  Some  persons  were  driven  to  such  terrible 
distress  as  to  search  the  common  sewers  and 
old  dung-hills  of  cattle,  and  what  they  before 
could  not  endure  so  much  as  to  see,  they  now 

*  Wars,  book  v,  chap.  10.         f  Ibid.,  book  vi,  chap.  3. 
t  Ibid.,  book  v,  chap.  12. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  91 

used  for  food."*  Little  do  those  who  are  sur- 
rounded by  plenty  know  what  are  the  horrors 
of  famine,  and  to  what  extremities  human  na- 
ture may  be  driven.  But  the  most  horrible  in- 
cident yet  remains  to  be  told  ;  an  incident  in 
itself  so  incredible  that  Josephus  declares  he 
would  not  have  related  it,  had  there  not 
been  at  the  time  he  wrote  innumerable  living 
witnesses  of  its  truth.  A  lady  of  high  con- 
sideration, "  eminent  for  her  family  and  her 
wealth,"  had  been  plundered  of  all  her  sub- 
stance and  provisions  by  the  soldiers,  who  en- 
deavoured to  sustain  themselves  during  the 
famine  by  breaking  into  private  houses,  and 
robbing  the  occupants  of  what  little  food  they 
had.  Driven  to  madness  and  desperation  by 
her  hunger,  she  killed  the  child  that  was  suck- 
ing at  her  breast,  "  and  then  roasted  him,  ate 
one  half  of  him,  and  secreted  the  remainder." 
Allured  by  the  smell  of  dressed  meat,  the  sol- 
diers rushed  into  the  house,  and  threatened  to 
kill  her  if  she  did  not  show  them  what  food  she 
had  gotten.  With  bitter  irony  she  assured  thfem 
that  a  fine  portion  had  been  saved  for  them, 
and  then  produced  the  half-eaten  body  of  her 
child ;  when  they  were  struck  with  horror  and 
amazement  at  the  sight,  she  said  to  them,  "  This 
*  Wars,  book  v,  chap.  13. 


92  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

is  mine  own  son,  and  what  hath  been  done  was 
mine  own  doing.  Come,  eat  of  this  food,  for  I 
have  eaten  of  it  myself.  Do  not  pretend  to  be 
either  more  tender  than  a  woman,  or  more  com- 
passionate than  a  mother.  But  if  you  be  so 
scrupulous,  and  do  abominate  this  my  sacrifice, 
as  I  have  eaten  the  one  half,  let  the  rest  be  left 
for  me  also."  Upon  this  the  men  went  out 
trembling  and  affrighted ;  and  the  story  being 
soon  spread  over  the  city,  did  so  affect  the 
famishing  people,  that  they  desired  nothing  so 
much  as  to  die,  and  esteemed  those  already 
dead  to  be  happy,  since  they  had  not  lived 
long  enough  either  to  hear  or  to  see  such  miser 
ries.*  How  strikingly  did  these  events  fulfil 
the  prophecies  of  Moses,  uttered  at  least  fifteen 
hundred  years  before  !  "  The  tender  and  deli- 
cate woman  among  you,  which  would  not  ad- 
venture to  set  the  sole  of  her  foot  upon  the 
ground  for  delicateness  and  tenderness,  her 
eye  shall  be  evil  toward  the  husband  of  her  bo- 
som, and  toward  her  son,  and  toward  her  daugh- 
tei*, — and  toward  her  children  which  she  shall  bear, 
for  she  shall  eat  them  for  the  want  of  all  things  se- 
cretly in  the  siege  and  straitness  wherewith 
thine  enemy  shall  distress  thee  in  thy  gates." 
Deut.  xxviii,  56,  57. 

*  Josephus,  Wars,  book  vi,  chapter  2. 


SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY.  93 

It  was  also  foretold  that  their  numbers  would 
be  greatly  diminished  by  the  calamities  that 
should  overtake  them.  "  Ye  shall  he  left  few  in 
number,  whereas  ye  were  as  the  stars  of  heaven 
for  multitude.^^ — This  prediction  was  fearfully 
accomplished  in  the  immense  slaughters  of  the 
Jews  which  took  place  during  their  contests 
with  the  Romans.  From  the  accounts  furnish- 
ed by  Josephus,  the  number  of  Jews  who  were 
destroyed  in  the  course  of  the  war  which  ter- 
minated in  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus, 
must  have  been  little  less  than  a  million  and  a 
half;  eleven  hundred  thousand  perished  in  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem  alone.  About  forty-five 
years  after  the  close  of  this  war,  the  Jews  in 
Egypt  and  Cyprus  revolted,  and  slew  upward 
of  four  hundred  thousand  of  the  inhabitants  of 
those  countries  ;  but  although  they  obtained  at 
first  some  partial  successes,  yet  they  were  finally 
defeated  by  the  Romans  under  Adrian,  who  af- 
terward became  emperor  of  Rome.  The  mur- 
ders committed  by  the  Jews  in  the  commence- 
ment of  the  insurrection  were  fearfully  retali- 
ated by  the  conquerors.  The  loss  of  the  Jews 
was  immense :  according  to  their  own  tradi- 
tions, as  many  fell  in  this  disastrous  war  as 
originally  escaped  from  Egypt  under  Moses — 
six  hundred  thousand  men.   About  fifteen  years 


94  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

after  this,  the  standard  of  revolt  was  again 
raised  by  an  individual  who  assumed  the  name 
of  Barchobab,  The  son  of  a  star,  and  pretended 
to  be  the  Messiah.  The  Jews  at  once  hailed  him 
as  their  promised  deliverer,  and  the  insurrection 
soon  spread  through  the  whole  of  Palestine. 
The  insurgents  obtained  possession  of  the  ruin- 
ed site  of  Jerusalem,  and  made  themselves  mas- 
ters of  most  of  the  strong  holds  in  the  country  ; 
but  after  a  contest  of  nearly  five  years,  they 
were  entirely  subdued  by  the  Romans  under 
Adrian  and  Severus.  The  historian  Dio  Cas- 
sius  states,  that  during  this  war  five  hundred 
and  eighty  thousand  Jews  were  slain,  besides 
those  who  perished  by  famine,  disease,  and 
fire.  In  consequence  of  these  desolating  wars, 
the  people  who  had  been  "  as  the  stars  of  hea- 
ven for  multitude,"  were  "  left  few  in  number  ;" 
the  land  of  Judea  was  almost  deserted,  and 
wild  beasts  went  howlinoj  along  the  streets  of 
the  desolate  cities. 

Besides  the  immense  multitudes  thus  destroy- 
ed, vast  numbers  were  reduced  to  slavery.  Of  the 
captives  taken  by  Titus  at  the  siege  of  Jerusa- 
lem "  those  above  seventeen  years  of  age  were 
sent  baund  to  Egypt  to  work  in  the  mines  ;" 
those  under  that  age  were  sold,  and  "  at  a  very 
low  price,  because  the  numbers  sold  were  so 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  95 

great,  and  the  purchasers  but  few."  Indeed, 
so  little  value  was  set  upon  the  captives,  that 
**  eleven  thousand  of  them  were  suffered  to  per- 
ish for  want  of  food."  "  The  whole  number 
of  those  who  were  carried  captive  during  this 
war,  amounted  to  ninety-seven  thousand."* 
"  After  their  last  overthrow  by  Adrian,  many 
thousands  of  them  were  sold ;  and  those  who 
could  not  be  sold  were  transported  into  Egypt, 
and  perished  by  shipwreck,  or  famine,  or  were 
massacred  by  the  inhabitants. "f  Fifteen  hun- 
dred years  before  this,  when  the  Israelites  had 
just  been  triumphantly  delivered  from  the  bond- 
age of  Egypt,  Moses  specified  among  the  judg- 
ments that  should  befall  them,  that  they  should 
again  be  carried  into  Egypt  as  slaves,  and  in 
such  numbers  that  purchasers  should  not  be 
found  for  them : — "  And  the  Lord  shall  bring 
thee  into  Egypt  again  with  ships ;  and  there  ye 
shall  he  sold  unto  your  enemies  for  hondmen  and 
for  bondwomen,  and  no  man  shall  buy  you?'' 
"  Egypt,  indeed,  was  the  great  slave  mart  of 
ancient  times,  and  several  of  the  conquerors  of 
the  Jews  had  before  sent,  at  least,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  their  captives  thither  to  be  sold."| 

*  Josephus,  Wars,  book  vi,  chapters  8  and  9. 
t  St.  Jerome,  as  quoted  by  Bishop  Newton. 
X  Pictorial  Bible. 


96  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

"  /  will  bring  your  sanctuaries  into  desolation,^^ 
Lev.  xxvi,  31. — The  word  "  sanctuaries,"  is 
here  used  to  denote  those  places  which  were 
set  apart  for  the  service  and  worship  of  God, 
especially  the  temple.  These  were  destroyed 
when  Jerusalem  was  taken  by  the  Chaldeans. 
From  2  Kings  xxv,  8,  9,  we  learn  that  they 
"  burned  the  house  of  the  Lord ;"  and  in  Psalm 
Ixiv,  7,  8,  it  is  said, — 

"  They  have  cast  fire  into  thy  sanctuary, 
They  have  defiled  by  casting  down  the  dwelling-place 

of  thy  name  to  the  ground. 
They  said  in  their  hearts, '  Let  us  destroy  them  together  :* 
They  have  burned  up  all  the  synagogues  of  God  in  the 

land." 

On  the  return  of  the  Jews  from  the  Babylonish 
captivity,  the  temple  was  rebuilt,  and  was  stand- 
ing when  Jerusalem  was  besieged  by  the  Ro- 
mans. When  the  city  was  taken,  the  Roman 
commander  was  greatly  desirous  to  preserve 
this  building  from  the  general  destruction ; 
"  But  Cesar  could  not  save  what  God  had  doom'd," 

and,  in  spite  of  his  utmost  efforts,  the  second 
temple  shared  the  fate  of  its  predecessor. 

"  And  ye  shall  be  plucked  from  off  the  land 
whither  thou  goest  to  possess  it.^^ — This  predic- 
tion was  accomplished,  first,  when  Shalmanezer 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  97 

"  carried  Israel  away  into  Assyria,"  (2  Kings 
xvii,  6,)  again,  when  Nebuchadnezzar  carried 
Judah  captive  to  Babylon,  and,  finally,  when 
the  great  body  of  the  Jews  were  driven  out  of 
their  country  by  the  Romans  under  Titus  and 
Adrian.  That  he  might  effectually  destroy 
any  hopes  the  Jews  might  still  entertain  of 
re-establishing  themselves  in  Palestine,  x\drian 
founded  a  new  city  on  the  site  of  Jerusalem, 
and  peopled  it  with  foreigners.  He  also  placed 
the  image  of  a  swine  over  one  of  the  gates ; 
and,  on  pain  of  death,  prohibited  any  Jew  from 
entering  the  city,  or  even  approaching  so  near 
as  to  view  from  a  distance  its  sacred  height. 
"  Tertullian  and  Jerome  say,  they  were  pro- 
hibited from  entering  Judea."*  It  is  certain 
that  since  that  period  comparatively  few  Jews 
have  been  found  there.  "  While  the  country 
has  been  successfully  overrun  by  Greeks, 
Christians,  Saracens,  and  Turks,  the  ancient 
poprietors  of  the  soil  have  alone  been  denied  a 
possession  therein."!  Sandys,  who  visited 
Palestine  in  1611,  says,  the  country  "  is  for  the 
most  part  now  inhabited  by  Moores  and  Arabi- 
ans ; — Turkes  there  be  few,  but  many  Greekes, 
with  other  Christians  of  all  sects  and  nations. 
Here  be  also  some  lewes,  yet  inherit  they  no 

*  Bishop  Newton.  t  Pictorial  Bible. 

7 


9S  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

part  of  the  land,  but  in  their  owne  country  do 
live  as  aliens."  The  number  of  Jews  now  liv- 
ing in  Palestine  is  probably  not  more  than 
twelve  thousand,  of  whom  about  one  half  are  to 
be  found  in  Jerusalem,  and  the  remainder  prin- 
cipally at  Hebron,  Tiberias,  and  Saphet,  these 
four  places  being  regarded  by  them  with  pecu- 
liar and  superstitious  veneration. 

That,  after  their  expulsion,  a  miserable  rem- 
nant would  continue  to  be  found  in  the  land  of 
their  fathers,  was  intimated  by  the  prophet, 
who  in  the  following  words  clearly  foretold  the 
abject  condition  to  which  they  should  be  re- 
duced, and  the  haughty  deportment  of  their 
rulers  toward  them : — "  The  stranger  that  is 
within  thee  shall  get  up  above  thee  very  high,  and 
thou  shalt  come  down  very  lowT — The  condition 
of  the  Jews  in  Palestine  has  for  many  centu- 
ries furnished  a  striking  commentary  on  this 
prediction.  "  They  have  not  only  lived  as 
aliens  in  the  land  that  was  once  their  own,  but 
of  all  the  aliens  found  in  that  land,  they  are  the 
most  oppressed  and  degraded."*  "  Their  condi- 
tion is  more  insecure,  and  exposed  to  insult  and 
oppression,  than  in  Egypt  and  Syria,  from  the 
frequent  lawless  and  oppressive  conduct  of  the 
governors  and  chiefs."!   Van  Egmont  and  Hey 

*  Pictorial  Bible.        t  Game's  Letters  from  the  East. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  99 

nam,  speaking  of  the  Jews  at  Saphet,  observes  : 
— "  The  Turks,  by  a  variety  of  oppressions, 
fines,  and  the  like  unjust  practices,  squeeze 
them  to  such  a  degree  that  they  may  be  said  to 
pay  for  the  very  air  they  breathe.  They  lead 
the  poorest  and  most  deplorable  life  that  can 
be  conceived."  The  author  of  "  Three  Weeks 
in  Palestine"  thus  describes  their  condition  in 
Jerusalem : — "  Every  thing  about  them  exhi- 
bited signs  of  depression  and  misery  :  they  are 
outcasts  from  the  common  rights  and  sympa- 
thies of  man  ;  oppressed  and  despised  alike  by 
Mohammedans  and  Christians."  They  are 
said  to  consist  chiefly  of  persons  advanced  in 
life,  who  come  to  Palestine  from  various  parts 
of  the  earth,  and  submit  to  these  oppressions, 
that  they  may  have  the  satisfaction  of  spending 
their  remaining  days  in  the  land  of  Israel,  and 
lay  their  bones  in  the  sepulchres  of  their  fathers. 

They  were  not  only  to  be  thrust  out  of  their 
own  land,  but  also  to  be  dispersed  through  the 
whole  world.  "  The  Lord  shall  scatter  thee 
among  all  people,  from  one  end  of  the  earth  even 
unto  the  other. ^^ — And  where  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  is  there  a  trading  nation  in  which  the  Jews 
are  unknown  ?  They  have  been  spread  over 
every  province  of  the  habitable  globe ;    they 


100  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

have  used  almost  every  tongue,  have  lived  in 
every  climate,  and  under  every  form  of  govern- 
ment, "  Neither  mountains,  nor  rivers,  nor 
deserts,  nor  oceans, — which  are  the  boundaries 
of  other  nations, — have  terminated  their  wan- 
derings." They  abound  in  Turkey,  Poland, 
Holland,  Russia,  Prussia,  Austria,  Germany, 
and  the  northern  states  of  Africa,  ^ especially 
Tunis  and  Morocco.  In  Italy,  Portugal,  France, 
Britain,  Hindostan,  Persia,  Egypt,  and  the 
United  States,  they  are  more  thinly  scattered. 
They  have  long  been  established  in  China, 
which  abhors  the  foreigner,  and  in  Abyssinia, 
which  it  is  almost  as  difficult  to  reach  as  to 
quit.  They  are  found  also  in  New-Holland, 
Japan,  and  the  West  Indies ;  in  Switzerland, 
Sweden,  and  the  isles  of  Greece  ;  on  the  rock 
of  Gibraltar,  and  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
They  have  drunk  of  the  Tiber,  the  Thames,  and 
the  Tigris  ;  of  the  Niger,  the  Ganges,  and  the 
Mississippi.  "  They  have  trodden  the  snows 
of  Siberia,  and  the  sands  of  the  burning  desert ; 
and  the  European  traveller  hears  of  their  exist- 
ence in  regions  which  he  cannot  reach, — even 
in  the  very  interior  of  Africa,  south  of  Timbuc- 
too."  In  a  word,  they  are  to  be  found  every- 
where, and  are  everywhere  living  witnesses  of 
the  divine  foresight,  government,  and  veracity. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  101 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    PROPHECIES    CONCERNING    THE    JEWS: 

CONCLUDED. 

The  Jews,  according  to  the  prophecy,  are  everywhere  persecuted 
and  oppressed — Their  treatment  by  Mohammed  and  his  followers 
—Their  treatment  in  Christian  comitries,  Spain,  Germany,  France, 
England — Striking  accordance  between  the  language  of  prophe- 
cy and  the  facts  of  history — The  Jews  are  violently  deprived 
of  their  cliildren — They  become  a  proverb  and  by- word  among  all 
people — Were  often  driven  to  desperation  by  their  calamities — 
Tlie  greatness  and  duration  of  their  plagues — Their  wonderful 
preservation  in  spite  of  every  effort  to  destroy  them — While  the 
Jews  have  been  preserved,  the  great  nations  who  formerly  op- 
pressed them  Eire  utterly  extinct — The  Jews  a  standing  miracle 
and  a  perpetual  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  Bible — Promises  of 
their  conversion — Probable  causes  why  so  few  have  as  yet  been 
converted — Increase  of  interest  on  the  subject  of  their  conver- 
sion— Extracts  from  the  report  of  a  deputation  sent  by  the  Church 
of  Scotland  to  visit  the  Jews  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  and 
ascertain  the  prospects  of  a  mission  among  them— The  Jews  have 
greater  claims  upon  Christians  than  have  any  otlier  people — Ex- 
tract from  St.  Paul — Hymn  by  Charles  Wesley. 

It  is  our  purpose  in  this  chapter  to  follow 
the  Jews  in  their  dispersion,  and  exhibit  the 
fulfilment  of  the  prophecies  which  relate  to  the 
treatment  they  should  meet  with  in  the  various 
countries  whither  they  were  driven. 

^^  And  among  these  nations  shalt  thou  have  no 
ease,  neither  shall  the  sole  of  thy  foot  have  rest^ 
hut  the  Lord  shall  give  thee  a  trembling  heart, 
and  failing  of  eyes^  and  sorrow  of  mind : — and 


102  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

thou  shah  he  only  oppressed  and  spoiled  evermore. ^^ 
' — How  remarkably  have  these  predictions  been 
accomplished  in  the  entire  history  of  the  Jews 
since  their  final  dispersion !  The  terrible 
calamities  which  befell  them  in  their  contests 
with  the  power  of  Rome  were  but  "  the  begin- 
ning of  sorrows."  Their  expulsion  from  Judea 
was  only  the  prelude  to  the  various  banish- 
ments, persecutions,  and  oppressions  which  in 
every  age,  and  in  almost  every  part  of  the  world, 
have  been  the  lot  of  this  unhappy  race.  Ter- 
tullian,  who  wrote  in  the  latter  part  of  the  se- 
cond century,  thus  describes  the  general  con- 
dition of  the  Jews  in  his  day : — "  Dispersed 
and  vagabond,  exiled  from  their  native  soil  and 
air,  they  wander  over  the  face  of  the  earth, 
without  a  king,  human  or  divine ;  and  even  as 
strangers,  they  are  not  permitted  to  salute  with 
their  footsteps  their  native  land." 

Such  continued  to  be  their  condition  until 
about  A.  D.  360,  when  they  were  elated  with 
the  prospect  of  being  again  restored  to  their 
own  country.  Julian,  the  Roman  emperor, 
having  abjured  the  Christian  faith,  and  wishing 
to  show  his  opposition  to  Christianity,  and  to 
falsify  the  prediction  of  Christ  respecting  Jeru- 
salem, (Luke  xxi,  24,)  issued  an  edict  for  the 
rebuilding  of  the  temple,  and  the  restoration 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  103 

of  the  Jewish  worship  in  all  its  original  splen- 
dour. The  whole  Jewish  world  was  in  com- 
motion. The  scattered  tribes  flocked  from  the 
most  distant  quarters  to  the  holy  city,  in  order 
to  be  present  and  help  forward  the  great  national 
work.  Their  property,  as  well  as  their  per- 
sonal exertions,  were  freely  contributed.  The 
materials  for  the  building  were  provided,  and 
workmen  were  already  employed  in  digging 
the  foundations,  when,  suddenly,  flames  of  fire 
came  bursting  from  the  ground,  accompanied 
with  the  most  frightful  explosions.  No  in- 
ducement could  prevail  on  the  labourers  to 
continue  a  work  which  appeared  to  excite 
the  anger  of  Heaven.  The  enterprise  was 
abandoned  as  being  at  once  hopeless  and  im- 
pious ;  and  in  the  death  of  Julian,  who  about 
the  same  time  was  slain  in  battle  by  the  Per- 
sians, the  Christian  world  beheld  the  ven- 
geance of  God,  and  the  Jew  the  extinction  of  all 
his  hopes. 

Under  the  successors  of  Julian,  the  edict  of 
Adrian  against  the  Jews  was  renewed,  and  un- 
til the  seventh  century  they  durst  not  so  much 
as  come  near  to  bewail  the  desolation  of  their 
city,  without  first  bribing  the  Roman  guards 
who  were  placed  there  to  prohibit  their  ap- 
proach.    Throughout  the  Roman  empire  they 


104  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

were  deprived  of  most  of  the  privileges  of  citi- 
zens; their  synagogues  were  frequently  de- 
stroyed by  mobs  ;  they  were  forbidden  by  law 
to  celebrate  some  of  their  religious  festivals ; 
they  were  restricted  in  the  right  of  bequeathing 
their  property;  and  their  testimony  was  not 
admitted  in  courts  of  justice  in  any  cause  in 
which  a  Christian  was  interested,  not  even  if  a 
Jew  were  himself  a  party  in  the  suit.  In  the 
fifth  century,  the  Jews  of  Alexandria,  to  the 
number  of  about  forty  thousand,  were  expelled 
from  the  city ;  their  synagogues  demolished, 
and  their  houses  plundered  by  the  populace.* 

When  Mohammed  commenced  his  career  of 
^imposture  and  conquest,  and  the  valleys  of 
Arabia  rung  with  the  triumphant  battle-cry  of 
his  followers,  The  Koran  or  death  !  the  Jews 
of  that  country  were  among  the  first  of  whom 
he  endeavoured  to  make  proselytes  ;  and  failing 
in  his  efforts,  they  became  the  first  victims  of 
his  sanguinary  teaching.  The  favour  with 
which  he  was  at  first  disposed  to  view  them, 
was,  by  their  persevering  refusal  to  embrace 
his  religion,  converted  into  implacable  hatred, 
with  which  he  pursued  them  to  the  last  mo- 
ment of  his  life.  The  storm  first  fell  upon  a 
colony  of  Jews  at  Medina,  who,  after  defending 
*  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  105 

themselves  for  fifteen  days,  were  compelled  to 
surrender.  Mohammed  issued  immediate  or- 
ders for  a  general  massacre,  and  it  was  with 
extreme  reluctance  that  he  yielded  to  the  im- 
portunity of  his  allies,  and  consented  to  spare 
the  lives  of  his  captives.  But  their  property 
was  confiscated,  and  the  wretched  band  of  se- 
ven hundred  exiles,  with  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, were  driven  out  of  the  country  to  seek  a 
refuge  on  the  confines  of  Syria.  At  another 
place,  seven  hundred  Jews,  who  had  surrender- 
ed at  discretion,  were  dragged  in  chains  to  the 
market  place,  and  there  put  to  death ;  their 
wives  and  children  were  sold  for  slaves,  and 
their  possessions  seized  by  the  conquerors.  In  , 
one  district,  the  Jewish  shepherds  and  husband- 
men were  allowed  a  precarious  toleration,  be- 
ing permitted,  during  the  pleasure  of  the  con- 
queror, to  remain  and  cultivate  their  grounds 
on  condition  of  paying  him  one  half  of  the  pro- 
duce :  but,  in  the  reign  of  Omar,  the  successor 
of  Mohammed,  these  also  were  banished  the 
country.  The  spirit  of  rancour  and  hostility 
which  the  impostor  himself  manifested  toward 
the  Jews  he  also  infused  into  the  hearts  of  his 
followers,  who,  except  where  interest  prompted 
a  different  course,  never  failed  to  imitate  his 
example.      In  all  Mohammedan  countries  no 


106  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

class  of  persons  have  been  so  universally  op- 
pressed and  degraded  as  the  unfortunate  Jews. 
In  many  parts  of  the  East  the  tyranny  exer- 
cised over  them  is  still  so  severe  as  to  afford 
at  the  present  time  a  literal  fulfilment  of  the 
prediction,  "  Thy  life  shall  hang  in  doubt  before 
th^e,  and  thou  shall  have  fear  day  and  night,  and 
shall  have  none  assurance  of  thy  life."  "  For 
the  murder  of  a  Jew,  a  Persian  has  only  to  cut 
around  a  finger,  so  as  to  draw  blood,  and  the 
offence  is  expiated."* 

Nor  has  their  condition  been  more  tolerable 
in  lands  that  are  called  Christian.  They  have 
found  the  adherents  of  popery  as  cruel,  oppres- 
sive, and  intolerant,  as  the  followers  of  the  false 
prophet,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  ac- 
count of  their  treatment  in  some  of  the  princi- 
pal countries  of  Europe. 

In  Spain,  Sisebut,  who  reigned  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  seventh  century,  raised  a  cruel  per- 
secution against  the  Jews,  who  were  then  very 
numerous  in  that  country,  and,  having  been  for 
some  time  tolerated,  if  not  protected,  by  the 
government,  appear  to  have  attained  a  consider- 
able degree  of  prosperity.  But  the  wealth 
which  they  had  accumulated  by  trade  and  the 
*  Alexander's  Travels  from  India  to  England. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  107 

management  of  the  finances,  invited  the  avarice 
of  their  masters  ;  and  they  might  be  oppressed 
without  danger,  as  they  had  lost  the  use,  and 
even  the  remembrance  of  arms.  Ninety  thou- 
sand Jews  were  compelled  to  receive  baptism  ; 
the  fortunes  of  those  who  refused  to  receive 
that  rite  were  confiscated,  their  bodies  were 
tortured,  and  it  seems  doubtful  whether  they 
were  permitted  to  leave  the  country.  The  ex- 
cessive zeal  of  the  king  was  moderated  even 
by  the  clergy  of  Spain,  who  declared  that  bap- 
tism ought  not  to  be  forcibly  administered  ;  yet, 
with  a  singular  inconsistency,  they  decided 
that  those  Jews  who  had  already  been  baptized, 
should  be  constrained  to  observe  the  outward 
rites  of  a  religion  which  they  disbelieved  and 
detested.*  But  this  tolerant  spirit  soon  evapo- 
rated, and  not  many  years  elapsed  before  the 
Jews  were  made  the  victims  of  another  severe 
persecution.  Laws  were  enacted,  prohibiting, 
under  the  severest  penalties,  the  observance  of 
any  of  the  festivals  or  peculiar  rites  of  Juda- 
ism. For  observing  the  passover,  the  new 
moon,  or  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  for  making  a 
distinction  in  meats, — for  violating  the  Chris- 
tian sabbath,  or  the  festivals  of  the  church, 
either  by  working  in  the  fields  or  manufactures, 
*  Gibbon's  Roman  Empire. 


108  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

— ^the  general  punishment  was  one  hundred 
lashes  on  the  naked  body ;  after  this  the  offender 
was  to  be  put  in  chains,  banished,  and  his  pro- 
perty confiscated  to  the  lord  of  the  soil.  They 
were  not  allowed  to  marry  without  a  clause  in 
the  act  of  dower  that  both  parties  would  be- 
come Christians  ;  and  all  who  offended  against 
this  law,  even  the  parents  concerned  in  such 
marriage,  were  to  be  fined  or  scourged.  The 
Jew  who  read,  or  allowed  his  children  to  read. 
Dooks  written  against  Christianity,  suffered  one 
hundred  lashes ;  on  the  second  offence  the 
lashes  were  repeated,  the  offenders  banished, 
and  their  property  confiscated.  Several  other 
enactments  of  a  similar  character  also  disgraced 
these  statutes  ;  and  if  they  were  not  everywhere 
fully  carried  into  effect,  they  were  only  pre- 
vented from  being  so  by  their  extreme  and  hor- 
rible cruelty.  A  few  years  after  this,  the 
Moors  invaded  and  effected  the  conquest  of 
Spain,  in  which  they  were  materially  assisted 
by  the  Jews,  and  in  consequence,  that  people 
were  regarded  with  high  favour  during  the 
continuance  of  the  Moorish  government  in  that 
country,  which  was  upward  of  three  hundred 
years.  During  this  period  the  Jews  rapidly 
increased  in  numbers,  wealth,  and  influence. 
They  were  the  most  enlightened  class  in  the 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  109 

kingdom  ;  they  were  the  cultivators  and  posses- 
sors of  the  soil ;  they  were  distinguished  for 
their  skill  as  physicians,  and  were  not  unfre- 
quently  promoted  to  high  and  responsible  offices 
in  the  state. 

On  the  decay  of  the  Mohammedan  power, 
and  the  re-establishment  of  popery,  the  superior 
education,  the  business  talents,  the  wealth  and 
industry  of  the  Jewish  population,  rendered 
them  too  important  a  class  of  the  community  to 
allow  their  rights  to  be  rashly  interfered  with, 
in  a  country  where  the  nobles  were  engaged 
almost  wholly  in  war,  and  the  lower  orders 
were  sunk  in  the  deepest  degradation.  In  the 
thirteenth  century,  however,  the  condition  of 
the  Jews  began  to  decline.  The  superstitions 
of  the  people,  and  the  animosities  of  the 
priests  were  bitterly  directed  against  them, 
and  constant  attempts  were  made  to  encroach 
upon  their  rights.  They  were  declared  inca- 
pable of  civil  offices  ;  they  were  compelled  to 
attend  a  Christian  church  three  times  a  year ; 
and  were  required  to  live  in  certain  specified 
streets,  and  thenceforth  particular  districts  were 
known  in  every  city  as  the  Jews'  quarter. 
These  petty  annoyances,  however,  afforded  but 
a  feeble  presage  of  the  fearful  hurricane  that 
at  last  arose.     The  attack  commenced  at  Se- 


110  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

ville,  in  1391.  The  populace,  having  been  in- 
cited by  a  sermon  preached  in  the  cathedral  by 
the  archbishop,  made  a  general  assauU  upon 
the  Jews'  quarter,  and  of  seven  thousand  fami- 
lies, upward  of  one  half  were  killed,  while  the 
remainder  sought  safety  by  a  pretended  con- 
version to  Christianity.  Similar  scenes  took 
place  in  Cordova,  Toledo,  Valencia,  and  in  all 
the  cities  where  large  numbers  of  Jews  were 
found.  Many  thousands  were  butchered  ;  not  a 
few  left  the  kingdom,  seeking  a  refuge  in  Italy, 
Turkey,  and  the  states  of  Barbary ;  and  it  is 
calculated  that  two  hundred  thousand  were 
forced  into  a  profession  of  Christianity.  As 
soon  as  the  violence  of  the  storm  had  passed 
over,  many  of  these  new  converts  relapsed  into 
Judaism,  and  many  more,  while  they  attended 
the  public  services  of  the  church,  continued  to 
observe  in  private  the  usages  of  their  ancient 
religion.  To  put  an  eff'ectual  stop  to  this,  the 
pope  issued  a  bull  for  the  establishment  of  the 
inquisition  in  Spain.  This  horrible  tribunal 
established  its  head  quarters  at  Seville;  but 
four  inferior  inquisitions  were  also  erected  in 
other  places.  It  was  invested  with  power  to 
summon  every  individual  suspected  of  secret 
attachment  to  Judaism ;  and  such  was  the  un- 
sparing severity  with  which  it  proceeded,  that, 


SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY.  Ill 

in  the  course  of  a  single  year,  upward  of  two 
thousand  persons  were  put  to  death  in  Seville 
and  the  immediately  surrounding  country ;  seve- 
ral were  imprisoned  for  life,  and  seventeen  thou- 
sand suffered  lighter  punishments.  At  last  a 
large  stone  building  was  constructed  for  con- 
taining a  large  number  of  prisoners  ;  combusti- 
ble materials  were  laid  around  the  outside  of 
the  walls,  while  the  wretched  inmates  were 
left  to  perish  by  a  lingering  death.  The  au- 
thority of  the  inquisition  extended  only  over 
those  Jews  who,  having  professed  the  Catholic 
faith  to  avoid  persecution,  were  suspected  of 
insincerity  in  their  attachment  to  it.  Those 
who  had  never  renounced  Judaism,  continued 
as  yet  to  enjoy  comparative  security.  But  their 
turn  soon  came.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  hav- 
ing succeeded  in  expelling  the  Moors  from 
Spain,  were  ambitious  of  the  glory  of  deliver- 
ing the  land  from  every  taint  of  heresy.  To 
effect  tliis,  nothing  was  now  wanting  but  the 
expulsion  of  the  Jews.  Accordingly,  in  1492 
an  order  was  given  that  every  unbaptized  Jew 
should  leave  the  country  within  four  months ;  all 
who  remained  after  that  period  were  to  be  put  to 
death.  Upon  the  issuing  of  this  edict,  the  minds 
of  the  unhappy  people  were  filled  with  astonish- 
ment and  horror.     From  one  end  of  Spain  to 


112  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

the  other  the  voice  of  lamentation  was  lifted 
up.  Every  appeal  to  the  justice  or  mercy  of 
Ferdinand,  or  his  queen,  was  alike  in  vain. 
Banishment  or  conversion  were  the  only  alter- 
natives. The  Jews  on  this  occasion  manifest- 
ed their  attachment  to  their  religion  by  prefer- 
ring it  to  every  thing  else.  Upward  of  three 
hundred  thousand  left  all  that  was  dear  to  them 
on  earth,  and  went  forth  in  search  of  lands 
where  they  might  be  allowed  to  worship  the 
God  of  their  fathers  in  peace.* 

This  calamity  was  considered  by  the  Jews 
almost  as  dreadful  as  the  capture  and  ruin  of 
Jerusalem.  Misfortune  continued  to  follow  the 
exiles  wherever  they  went.  The  account  of 
their  sufferings  is  heart  rending ;  our  limits 
permit  us  only  to  mention  in  general,  that  the 
richer  part  of  them  withdrew  first  to  Portu- 
gal, where  the  Jewish  faith  had  hitherto  been 
tolerated,  and  which  country  they  were  permit- 
ted to  enter  on  paying  a  toll  of  eight  crusados 
a  head.  But  the  contagious  influence  of  the 
proceedings  in  Spain  soon  extended  to  the  sis- 
ter kingdom ;  and  the  wretched  exiles,  after 
being  made  the  objects  of  new  forms  of  oppres- 
sion and  injustice,  were  at  last,  under  circum- 
stances of  extreme  cruelty,  expelled  from  that 
*  Encyclopedia  Brittannica. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  113 

country  also.  Others,  who  directed  their  course 
to  the  states  of  Barbary  and  Morocco,  were  sub- 
jected to  the  horrors  of  shipwreck,  famine,  and 
pestilence ;  some  were  set  ashore  on  desert 
islands  by  the  inhuman  ship  owners,  and  some 
were  sold  as  slaves.  Some  went  to  Italy, 
where  the  hardest  fate  of  all  awaited  them,  in 
the  cruel  treatment  they  met  with  from  their 
own  countrymen,  who  inhospitably  refused  to 
receive  them ;  thousands  lay  perishing  with 
hunger  on  the  shore,  till  even  the  pope  [Alex. 
VI.]  interfered  by  a  sentence  of  banishment 
against  the  resident  Jews,  which  was,  however, 
revoked  on  their  paying  a  considerable  sura. 
But  notwithstanding  all  the  sufferings  to  which 
they  were  exposed,  and  which  so  considerably 
diminished  their  numbers,  large  communities 
were  formed  by  the  descendants  of  the  exiles 
in  Barbary,  Turkey,  and  Italy.  In  Spain  there 
were  now  no  professed  Jews,  nor  have  they 
since  been  tolerated  in  that  country ;  with  the 
exception  of  three  or  four  thousand,  who  reside 
at  Gibraltar,  under  the  protection  of  Great  Bri- 
tain. 

In  Germany,  although  the  Jews  gradually 
became  the  objects  of  aversion  to  all  classes, 
the  protection  of  the  emperors,  and  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  popes,  preserved  them  from  gene- 
8 


114  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

ral  attack  until  the  time  of  the  crusades.  When 
the  horde  of  fanatics,  who,  in  the  year  1096j 
under  the  command  of  Peter  the  Hermit,  com- 
menced the  first  crusade,  were  assembled  near 
Treves,  a  city  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  it 
was  suggested  that  before  they  attempted  to 
rescue  the  sepulchre  of  Christ  from  the  hands 
of  the  infidels,  they  ought  to  take  vengeance 
on  those  worse  unbelievers  who  had  been  his 
murderers.  With  one  impulse  they  rushed  into 
the  city.  The  choice  of  death  or  conversion 
was  given  to  the  miserable  Jews,  and  only  a 
few  escaped  the  general  massacre.  Fathers 
presented  their  breasts  to  the  sword,  after  hav- 
ing slain  their  own  children  to  prevent  their 
being  brought  up  as  Christians,  and  the  women, 
to  escape  the  brutality  of  the  soldiers,  fastened 
stones  to  their  bodies,  and  threw  themselves 
into  the  river.  Similar  scenes  were  repeated 
in  Cologne,  Mentz,  Worms,  and  in  all  the  cities 
of  the  Rhine ;  and  the  progress  of  the  armies 
was  marked  by  the  blood  of  the  Jews,  till  they 
reached  the  plains  of  Hungary.  Upon  a  mode- 
rate computation,  not  less  than  seventeen  thou- 
sand are  supposed  to  have  perished.  The 
minds  of  those  who  escaped  were  filled  with 
consternation,  and  many  fled  to  Siberia,  Mora- 
via, and  Poland.     Some,  however,  still  clung 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  115 

to  the  land  which  gave  them  birth,  and  fifty 
years  of  comparative  quiet  elapsed  for  them  to 
multiply  again  their  devoted  race,  and  acquire 
wealth  to  undergo  their  inalienable  doom  of 
pillage  and  massacre.  The  second  crusaders 
in  1146  attacked  them  with  the  same  perse- 
cuting' spirit  as  their  predecessors ;  but  upon 
this  occasion  the  greater  part  saved  themselves 
by  a  timely  flight.  A  frightful  havoc,  how- 
ever, took  place  among  the  Jews  in  the  cities  of 
Cologne,  Mentz,  Worms,  Spires,  and  Strasburg. 
From  the  time  of  the  crusades  the  condition  of 
the  Jews  in  Germany  continued  unsettled  and 
degraded.  History  abounds  with  instances  of 
the  injustice  which  they  suflfered  from  the  ra- 
pacity of  the  princes,  and  the  tumultuous  as- 
saults of  the  people.  From  certain  states  and 
«ities  they  were  interdicted  altogether.  In 
others  they  had  a  right  of  residing,  and  a  par- 
ticular part  of  the  city  was  assigned  them  ;  but 
they  were  frequently  expelled  from  the  streets 
to  which  they  had  a  legal  right,  in  order  that  a 
sum  of  money  might  be  extorted  from  them  for 
permission  to  return  to  their  dwellings.  The 
popular  fury  was  ever  ready  to  break  out 
against  them,  and  needy  princes  held  out  the 
threat  that  unless  their  coffers  were  replenish- 
ed by  contributions  from  the  Jews,  an  incensed 


116  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECr. 

populace  would  be  let  loose  upon  them.  Upon 
other  occasions  the  necessity  of  their  conver- 
sion was  insisted  upon,  and  they  were  com- 
pelled to  pay  large  sums  to  avoid  being  forcibly 
baptized.  Enthusiasts  arose,  who  considered 
themselves  commissioned  by  Heaven  to  pro- 
claim war  against  this  unhappy  people.  •  In  the 
thirteenth  century,  a  nobleman,  named  Rhind- 
fleish,  proceeded  through  many  of  the  most  pop- 
ulous towns  of  Germany,  followed  by  a  multi- 
tude who  destroyed  whole  communities  of  Jews. 
In  1337,  a  peasant,  named  Armdler,  pursued 
a  similar  course,  till  his  atrocities  awaked  the 
tardy  justice  of  the  emperor,  by  whom  he  was 
put  to  death.  A  few  years  later,  when  the 
whole  of  Europe  was  desolated  by  a  plague,  it 
was  reported  in  Germany,  that  the  Jews  had 
caused  the  plague  by  poisoning  the  public 
wells.  The  effect  of  this  report  was  terrible. 
At  Basle,  the  adult  Jews  were  put  in  a  vessel 
on  the  Rhine,  which  was  set  on  fire  ;  the  chil- 
dren being  spared  that  they  might  be  educated 
as  Christians.  It  would  be  tedious  to  relate 
the  manner  in  which  the  Jews  were  put  to  death 
in  other  cities  ;  but  from  Switzerland  to  Sibe- 
ria the  land  was  drenched  with  innocent  blood.* 

*  "About   this  time,  [1349,]  the  Jews  throughout  the 
world  were  arrested  and  burned,  and  their  fortunes  con- 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  117 

For  some  centuries  after  this,  little  change  was 
effected  in  the  condition  of  the  Jews  in  Ger- 
many. The  laws  enacted  by  Frederick  the 
Great,  in  1750,  for  the  regulation  of  his  Jewish 
subjects,  were  of  the  most  intolerant  descrip- 
tion. 

In  France,  under  Pepin,  Charlemagne,  and 
their  immediate  successors,  the  Jews  enjoyed 
the  same  protection  and  privileges  as  other 
persons.  On  account  of  their  superior  intelli- 
gence and  education,  they  were  frequently  pro- 
moted to  offices  of  trust :  they  were  the  physi- 
cians, and  the  ministers  of  finance  to  nobles  and 
kings ;  they  engrossed  much  of  the  foreign 
commerce ;  their  vessels  crowded  the  ports,  and 
their  merchandize  encumbered  the  quays  of  the 
seaports.  This  state  of  prosperity  continued 
with  little  abatement  until  the  tenth  century, 
when  the  Jews  began  rapidly  to  decline  from  a 
learned,  and  influential,  and  powerful  class  of 
the  community,  to  miserable  outcasts,  the  com- 
mon prey  of  clergy,  nobles,  and  citizens  ;  and 
existing  in  a  state  worse  than  slavery  itself. 

fiscated  by  those  lords  under  whose  jurisdiction  they  had 
lived,  except  at  Avignon,  and  the  territories  of  the  church 
dependant  on  the  pope.  Each  poor  Jew,  when  he  was 
able  to  hide  himself  and  arrive  in  that  country,  esteemed 
himself  safe." — FroissarVs  Chronicles, 


118  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

Even  in  this  wretched  situation,  though  de- 
prived of  every  thing  else,  and  denied  the  com- 
mon rights  of  humanity,  they  were  still  pos- 
sessed of  gold.  By  their  loans  to  the  nobles, 
they  had  a  hold  on  most  of  the  estates  of  the 
country;  they  had  also  articles  of  value  in 
pawn  from  all  classes  of  the  community ;  even 
the  priests,  when  in  want  of  money,  scrupled 
not  to  pledge  to  them  the  sacred  vessels  of  the 
churches.  The  people  were  galled  by  the  fact 
that  they  stood  in  the  relation  of  debtor  to  this 
despised  race  ;  and  the  usurious  interest  exact- 
ed by  the  Jews,  increased  the  popular  odium 
against  them.  In  the  year  1180,  Philip  11. 
issued  a  decree  annulling  all  debts  due  to  the 
Jews,  and  requiring  them  to  surrender  all  the 
pledges  held  by  them.  A  few  years  after,  an- 
other edict  was  issued,  which  confiscated  all 
their  immoveable  property,  and  commanded 
them  immediately  to  sell  all  their  moveables,  and 
leave  the  country.  Obliged  to  part  with  their 
effects  at  the  lowest  prices,  they  sadly  depart- 
ed, bearing  with  them  little  but  their  destitute 
wives  and  children,  from  the  scenes  of  their 
birth  and  infancy.  Before  twenty  years  had 
elapsed,  the  necessities  of  the  king  induced 
him  to  allow  the  Jews,  on  payment  of  a  sum 
of  money,  to  re-enter  France,  which  they  did  in 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  119 

great  numbers.  The  necessities,  the  cruelty, 
or  superstition  of  succeeding  kings,  varied  the 
modes  of  Jewish  persecution.  Louis  VIII.  for- 
bid them  receiving  interest  from  their  debtors. 
■^  Louis  IX.  annulled  by  law  one  third  of  all 
debts  due  them ;  he  also  published  an  edict  for 
the  destruction  of  their  sacred  books  [the  Tal- 
mud] of  which  twenty-four  carts  full  were  burn- 
ed in  the  city  of  Paris.  By  other  laws  they 
were  forbidden  to  hold  social  intercourse  with 
Christians.  In  the  province  of  Brittany  all  debts 
due  to  them  were  annulled ;  those  who  held 
property  belonging  to  them  were  allowed  to  re- 
tain it ;  and  no  punishment  could  be  inflicted 
on  any  person  for  killing  a  Jew.  In  1239,  the 
Jews  of  Paris,  Orleans,  and  several  other  ci- 
ties, were  attacked  by  mobs  who  committed 
frightful  ravages.  To  complete  their  misery, 
and  to  mark  them  out  as  objects  of  inevitable 
persecution,  they  were  compelled  to  wear  a 
conspicuous  brand  upon  their  dress ;  this  con- 
sisted of  a  piece  of  blue  cloth  sewed  on  the 
front  and  back  of  the  garment,  and  was  to  be 
worn  by  both  sexes.  In  France,  as  in  Germa- 
ny, monstrous  reports  were  circulated  of  their 
sacrilege  and  cruelty.  They  were  accused  of 
throwing  poison  into  the  rivers,  of  practising 
magic,  and  of  holding  correspondence  with  in- 


120  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

fidel  kings.  They  were  proscribed,  plundered, 
burned  to  death.  In  some  places  they  were 
compelled  by  torture  to  confess  themselves 
guilty,  and  on  their  confession  were  burned 
In  other  places  all  Jews  were  burned  without 
distinction.  At  Chinon  a  deep  ditch  was  dug, 
an  enormous  pile  raised,  and  one  hundred  and 
sixty  of  both  sexes  burned  together.  Those 
who  survived  the  persecution,  purchased  their 
lives  by  the  payment  of  a  large  sum  of  money ; 
and  then,  as  the  height  of  mercy,  were  permit- 
ted to  collect  the  rest  of  their  effects  and  leave 
the  kingdom.  Yet  still  they  sought — even  paid 
a  price — to  live  in  a  land  that  oppressed  them. 
Unhappy  race !  the  earth,  perhaps,  afforded  them 
no  safer  asylum.  Six  times  were  they  banish- 
ed from  the  country :  as  many  times  did  they 
purchase  permission  to  return  ;  but  it  was  only 
that  they  might  heap  up  new  treasures  to  be- 
come again  the  victims  of  avarice  and  super- 
'  stition.  At  length,  in  the  year  1397,  during 
the  reign  of  Charles  VI.,  they  were,  for  the 
seventh  and  last  time,  commanded  to  quit  the 
kingdom.  This  sentence  was  rigidly  enforced ; 
the  greater  part  of  the  exiles  withdrew  into 
Germany,  Italy,  and  Poland ;  and  for  several 
centuries  after,  very  few  Jews  were  found  in 
France. 


*  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  121 

In  England,  though  from  interested  motives 
they  were  for  a  time  tolerated  by  the  monarchs, 
the  Jews  became  objects  of  popular  hatred, 
partly  from  superstitious  motives,  and  partly 
from  the  odium  which  was  at  that  time  attach- 
ed to  the  custom  of  lending  money  upon  inte- 
rest, as  well  as  from  the  rigour  with  which 
the  practice  was  exercised  by  them.  They, 
however,  suffered  but  little,  except  from  the 
exactions  of  the  sovereigns,  until  the  accession 
of  Richard  I.  On  the  coronation  of  that  mon- 
arch, some  Jews,  supposing  themselves  to  be 
unknown,  had  incautiously  ventured,  contrary 
to  an  express  prohibition,  to  attend  as  specta- 
tors of  the  ceremony.  Being  discovered,  an 
attack  was  made  upon  them  by  the  populace, 
which  ended  in  a  general  assault  upon  the 
Jews.  Their  houses  were  broken  open  and 
pillaged,  and  in  many  instances  set  on  fire. 
Richard  in  vain  endeavoured  to  put  a  stop  to 
the  tumult,  which  continued  to  rage  for  two 
days ;  and  after  it  had  subsided,  such  was  the 
state  of  the  public  feeling,  that  the  government 
either  would  not,  or  dared  not,  bring  to  justice 
those  who  had  been  engaged  in  it.  Intelli- 
gence of  what  had  been  done  by  the  populace 
of  London  soon  spread  through  the  country, 
and  similar  outrages  took  place  in  Norwich, 


122  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

Stamford,  and  several  other  towns,  in  which 
the  Jews  were  plundered,  maltreated,  and  slain. 
The  country  was  swarming  with  soldiers  who 
were  preparing  to  join  the  crusade  to  the  Holy 
Land,  and  who  considered  themselves  justified 
in  robbing  the  rich  Jews,  to  aid  them  in  their 
pilgrimage.  At  York,  the  Jews  took  refuge  in 
the  castle,  and  made  a  vigorous  defence ;  but 
finding  their  situation  hopeless,  they  destroyed 
every  thing  of  value  they  possessed,  cut  the 
throats  of  their  wives  and  children,  set  fire  to 
the  castle,  and  then  killed  themselves.  During 
the  two  following  reigns,  the  history  of  Eng- 
land abounds  in  instances  of  the  oppressions  to 
which  the  Jews  were  subject,  and  of  the  vast 
sums  extorted  from  them  by  the  necessities  of 
the  monarchs.  The  tyrannical  proceedings 
of  King  John  toward  this  unhappy  race  are 
well  known,  and  in  particular,  his  ordering  that 
a  rich  Jew  of  Bristol  should  lose  a  tooth  daily 
till  he  paid  ten  thousand  marks.*  The  Jew 
lost  seven  teeth  before  he  yielded.  Their  situa- 
tion was  in  no  degree  improved  under  Henry 
III.  The  superstitions  of  the  people,  and  the 
necessities  of  the  government,  subjected  them 
to  every  varied  form  of  contumely  and  wrong. 
After  the  king  had  repeated  his  extortions  so 
*  About  eighty  thousand  dollars. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  123 

frequently  that  the  Jews  made  the  vain  threat 
of  leaving  the  kingdom,  he  sold  them  to  his 
brother  for  five  thousand  marks,  with  full  power 
over  their  persons  and  property.  At  last,  in 
the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  without  any  known 
pretext  afforded  by  their  conduct,  an  edict  was 
issued  for  their  expulsion  from  the  country  al- 
together ;  and  after  having  been  deprived  of  all 
their  possessions,  the  wretched  race,  amid  the 
mockery  and  triumph  of  the  common  people, 
proceeded  to  the  shore,  and  finally  left  the 
island.  The  number  of  the  exiles  amounted  to 
fifteen,  or  as  some  say,  sixteen  thousand.  The 
Jews  were  not  permitted  to  return  to  England 
until  the  reign  of  Cromwell,  nearly  four  hun- 
dred years  after. 

The  foregoing  particulars  form  but  a  small 
portion  of  the  dark  catalogue  of  the  calamities 
and  persecutions  which  have  befallen  this  un- 
happy race.  But  enough  has  been  said  to 
show  how  strikingly  the  facts  of  history  have 
corresponded  with  the  language  of  prophecy. 
Indeed,  it  would  be  scarcely  possible  to  sum  up 
the  leading  particulars  of  the  Jewish  history 
since  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  in  more 
graphic  and  forcible  language  than  that  of  the 
sacred  oracle  which  predicted  their  fate: — 


124  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

"  They  ham  been  plucked  out  of  their  own  land,  and 
scattered  among  all  people  from  one  end  of  the  earth 
even  to  the  other.  And  among  these  nations  they 
have  had  no  ease,  neither  has  the  sole  of  their  foot 
had  rest ;  hut  the  Lord  has  given  them  a  trembling 
heart,  and  failing  of  eyes,  and  sorrow  of  mind. 
They  have  been  oppressed  and  spoiled ;  their  lives 
have  hung  in  doubt  before  them ;  they  have  feared 
day  and  night,  and  have  had  no  assurance  of  their 
lives.^^ 

But  there  are  some  further  particulars  in  the 
prophecy  which  will  require  our  notice.  One 
of  the  judgments  which  Moses  denounced 
against  the  Jews  was,  that  they  should  be  vio- 
lently deprived  of  their  children : — "  Thy  sons 
and  thy  daughters  shall  be  given  to  another  peo- 
ple, and  thine  eyes  shall  look,  and  fail  with  long- 
ing for  them  all  the  day  long.^^  When  Jerusa- 
lem was  taken  by  Titus,  all  the  captives  under 
seventeen  years  of  age,  amounting  to  many 
thousands,  were  taken  from  their  parents  and 
sold  into  slavery.  And  in  modern  times,  es- 
pecially in  France,  Germany,  Spain,  and  Por- 
tugal, the  children  of  Jews  have  often  been  for- 
cibly taken  away  and  given  in  charge  of  the 
priests,  that  they  might  be  educated  as  Chris- 
tians.    When  the  king  of  Portugal  published 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  125 

the  decree  for  the  banishment  of  the  Jews  from 
his  kingdom,  "  he  also  issued  a  secret  order  to 
seize  all  the  children  under  fourteen  years  of 
age  ;  to  tear  them  from  the  arms — the  bosoms 
of  their  parents,  and  disperse  them  through  the 
country,  to  be  baptized  and  brought  up  as  Chris- 
tians. The  secret  transpired,  and  lest  they 
should  conceal  their  children,  it  was  instantly 
put  into  execution."*  How  great  a  calamity 
the  Jews  considered  this,  may  be  judged  from 
the  fact,  that  many  parents  who  were  unable 
to  conceal  their  children,  destroyed  them  with 
their  own  hands  :  frantic  mothers  threw  their 
infants  into  wells  and  rivers,  choosing  rather  to 
see  them  perish  before  their  eyes,  than  fall  into 
the  hands  of  their  enemies,  to  be  educated  in 
any  other  religion  than  their  own. 

Moses  also  predicted  that  the  Jews  should  be- 
come "  an  astonishment,  a  proverb,  and  a  by-word 
among  all  nations,  whither  the  Lord  should  lead 
them ;"  and  Jeremiah  declared  that  they  should 
be  "  a  reproach,  a  proverb,  a  taunt,  and  a  curse 
in  all  places  "\  And  such  has  been  the  case. 
Among  Christians,  Mohammedans,  and  pagans, 
they  have  been  the  objects  not  only  of  oppres- 
sion and  persecution,  but  also  of  the  bitterest 
*  Millman.  f  Jeremiah  xxiv,  9. 


126  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

scorn  and  contempt.  Among  all  nations,  the  cun- 
ning, the  avarice,  and  the  usury  of  the  Jews  are 
proverbial ;  and  their  very  name  has  been  used 
as  a  term  of  peculiar  reproach  and  infamy.  In 
Spain  it  was  once  made  a  ,penal  offence  to  call 
a  man  a  Jew.  Mr.  Lane  informs  us  that  the 
Egyptians,  when  quarreling,  lavish  upon  each 
other  the  vilest  names,  such  as  "  son  of  a  dog, 
pig,"  and  an  appellation  which  they  think 
worse  than  any  of  these,  namely,  "  Jew."  The 
same  writer  also  states,  that  it  is  common  to 
hear  an  Arab  abuse  his  jaded  ass,  and  after 
applying  to  him  various  opprobrious  epithets, 
end  by  calling  the  beast  a  Jew.*  The  empe- 
ror Constantine,  in  a  public  document,  terms  the 
Jews  the  most  hateful  of  all  people.f  In  most 
countries  they  have  been  without  a  character 
or  place  in  society.  The  very  lowest,  the 
dregs  of  the  population,  scorned  fellowship  with 
them,  and  avoided  them  as  a  contamination. 
They  have  been  required  to  live  in  particular 
streets,  separate  from  the  rest  of  the  inhabit- 
ants,J  and  compelled  to  bear  about  with  them 

*  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Modern  Egyptians. 

t  Rev.  H.  H.  Millman. 

t  That  portion  of  the  city  of  London  to  which  the  Jews 
were  formerly  restricted  still  goes  by  the  name  of  the  Old 
Jewry. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  127 

the  mark  of  degradation,  and  expose  themselves 
to  the  insults  of  the  populace  by  wearing  a 
brand  on  their  dress,  a  cap  of  a  peculiar  colour, 
or  some  other  badge  of  distinction.  In  short, 
they  have  been 

*'  Scattered  abroad 
Earth's  scorn  and  hissing  ;  to  the  race  of  men 
A  loathsome  proverb  ;  spumed  by  every  foot ; 
And  cursed  by  every  tongue  ;  their  heritage 
And  birthright  bondage  ;  and  their  very  brows 
Bearing,  like  Cain's,  the  outcast's  mark  of  hate." 

It  was  foretold  that  their  afflictions  should  be 
such  that  they  should  he  mad  for  the  sight  of  their 
eyes  which  they  should  see  : — and  what  language 
can  better  describe  the  desperation  to  which 
they  were  reduced,  and  the  agony  of  mind  they 
endured  when  they  were  dying  of  hunger  by 
thousands  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem — when 
they  saw  their  holy  temple  wrapped  in  flames, 
and  y<^Z^  that  they  were  forsaken  of  God — when 
they  slew  their  wives  and  children,  and  afterward 
killed  themselves,  to  avoid  falling  into  the  hands 
of  their  ferocious  foes — when  their  children 
were  torn  from  their  arms — when  they  were 
stripped  of  their  possessions,  and  driven  as 
houseless  wanderers  from  the  land  of  their 
birth,  and  the  homes  of  their  youth,  to  seek  a 
refuge  they  knew  not  whither^      Calamities 


128  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

such  as  they  have  endured  never  yet  fell  to  the 
lot  of  any  other  people. 

Finally,  it  was  declared  that  their  plagues 
should  be  wond^ul — even  great  plagues — and  of 
long  continuance.  How  great  and  wonderful 
their  plagues  have  been,  we  have  already 
shown ;  but  their  greatness  is  not  more  won 
derful  than  their  duration.  For  nearly  eighteen 
centuries  have  this  devoted  people  "  drunk  at 
the  hand  of  the  Lord  the  cup  of  his  fury ;  they 
have  drunken  the  dregs  of  the  cup  of  trembling, 
and  wrung  them  out ;"  and  although  in  most 
countries  their  condition  is  now  infinitely  supe- 
rior to  what  it  formerly  was,  they  are  still  a 
dispersed  and  generally  despised  people ;  and 
in  many  lands  the  hand  of  the  oppressor  is  yet 
heavy  upon  them. 

What  other  nation  has  sufFerd  so  much,  and 
yet  endured  so  long  1  Nay,  what  other  nation, 
except  the  Arabs,  has  subsisted  a  distinct  and 
unmixed  people  in  their  own  country,  so  long 
as  the  Jews  have  done  while  dispersed  among 
all  countries  ?  What  principle  of  vitality  has 
kept  them  alive  under  the  "  great  fight  of  aflflic- 
tion"  which  they  have  had  to  encounter  ?  What 
is  it  that  has  enabled  them  to  sustain,  for  ages, 
such  a  weight  of  oppression  without  being  an- 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  129 

nihilated  by  it  ?  What  but  the  power  and  pro- 
vidence of  that  God  who  had  decreed  both  their 
calamities  and  their  continuance  ?  "I  will 
scatter  them,"  said  Jehovah,  "  among  the  hea- 
then, and  will  draw  out  a  sword  after  them. 
And  yet  for  all  that,  when  they  be  in  the  land 
of  their  enemies,  I  will  not  cast  them  away,  neither 
will  I  abhor  them,  to  destroy  them  utterly,  and  to 
break  my  covenant  vnth  them,  for  I  am  the  Lord 
their  God,''  Levit.  xxvi,  33,  44.  "I  will  sift 
the  house  of  Israel  among  all  nations,  like  as 
corn  is  sifted  in  a  sieve,  yet  shall  not  the  least 
grain  fall  upon  the  earth,''  Amos  ix,  9.  And 
again,  "  I  will  make  a  full  end  of  all  the  nations 
whither  I  have  driven  them :  but  I  will  not 
make  a  full  end  of  them,"  Jer.  xlvi,  28.  The 
promise  of  the  Eternal  was  thus  pledged  for 
their  preservation,  and  the  utmost  efforts  of  the 
uncircumcised  have  been  unable  to  effect  their 
destruction.  Kings  have  employed  the  severi- 
ty of  their  edicts,  and  the  hands  of  the  execu- 
tioner ;  they  have  been  murdered  by  thousands 
in  popular  tumults,  robbed  of  their  property, 
and  bereaved  of  their  children.  They  have 
from  age  to  age  run  through  misery  and  oppres- 
sion, and  torrents  of  their  own  blood.  Perse- 
cution has  unsheathed  the  sword,  and  lighted 
the  fagot ;  papal  superstition  and  Mohammedan 
9 


130  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

barbarity  have  smote  them  with  unsparing 
ferocity ;  penal  statutes,  and  deep  prejudice 
have  visited  on  them  most  unrighteous  chas- 
tisement ;  and  notwithstanding  ail,  they  sur- 
vive !  Every  means  has  been  employed  to 
exterminate  them ;  all  nations  have  united  in 
the  design  of  destroying  them.  Their  steps 
have  been  dogged  by  an  ever-following  curse ; 
go  where  they  would  they  have  been  despised, 
reviled,  and  trodden  under  foot.  No  other  peo- 
ple ever  suffered  the  hundredth  part  of  their 
calamities,  and  still  they  live  !  "  Like  the  bush 
on  Mount  Horeb,  Israel  has  continued  to  bum 
without  being  consumed."  For  nearly  eighteen 
hundred  years  have  they  been  dispersed  among 
the  nations,  and  "  left  to  the  mercy  of  a  world 
that  everywhere  hated  and  oppressed  them — 
shattered  in  pieces  like  the  wreck  of  a  mighty 
vessel  in  a  storm — scattered  over  the  earth  like 
fragments  upon  the  waters."  "  They  have  had 
no  temple,  no  sacrifice,  no  prince,  no  certain 
dwelling  places.  Forbidden  to  be  governed 
by  their  own  laws,  to  choose  their  own  magis- 
trates, to  maintain  any  common  policy ;  every 
ordinary  bond  of  national  union  and  preserva- 
tion has  been  wanting ;  whatever  influences 
of  local  attachment,  or  of  language,  or  manners, 
or  government,  have  been  found  necessary  to 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  131 

the  preservation  of  other  nations,  have  been 
denied  to  them ;  all  the  influences  of  internal 
depression  and  outward  violence  which  have 
ever  destroyed  and  blotted  out  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  have  been  at  work  with  unprecedent- 
ed strength,  for  more  than  seventeen  centuries, 
upon  the  national  Israel,  and  still  the  Jews  are 
a  distinct  and  numerous  people,  unassimilated 
with  any  nation,  though  dispersed  among  all 
nations.  Their  peculiarities  are  undiminish- 
ed ;  their  national  identity  is  unbroken."*  How- 
ever remote  from  their  native  land,  they  are 
still  Jews  ;  however  distant  from  each  other, 
they  are  still  brethren.  Indeed  no  people,  not 
even  the  most  settled  nation  of  Europe,  have 
preserved  their  race  so  pure  and  unmixed  as 
have  the  scattered  and  wandering  Jews.  "  In 
France,  who  can  separate  the  race  of  the  an- 
cient Gauls  from  the  various  other  people  who 
from  time  to  time  have  settled  there  ?  In  Spain, 
who  can  distinguish  exactly  between  the  first 
possessors,  the  Spaniards,  and  the  Goths  and 
the  Moors,  who  conquered  and  kept  possession 
of  the  country  for  some  ages  ?  In  England, 
who  can  pretend  to  say  with  certainty  which 
families  are  descended  from  the  ancient  Britons, 
and  which  from  the  Romans,  or  Saxons,  or 
*  M'llvaine's  Lectures. 


132  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

Danes,  or  Normans  ?  The  most  ancient  and 
honourable  pedigrees  can  only  be  traced  up  o 
a  certain  period,  and  beyond  that  there  is  no- 
thing but  conjecture  and  uncertainty."*  No 
such  obscurity,  however,  rests  on  the  descent 
of  the  Jews.  They  may  not  be  able  to  distin- 
guish the  particular  tribe  to  which  they  belong, 
but  they  know  certainly  that  they  are  the  seed 
of  Jacob,  the  children  of  Abraham.! 

Meanwhile,  what  has  become  of  those  migh- 
ty nations  who  were  the  rods  of  Jehovah's  an- 
ger in  chastising  the  Jews  ?  "  Has  not  the 
Lord,  according  to  his  word,  made  a  full  end 
of  them  ?  While  Israel  has  stood  unconsumed 
in  the  fiery  furnace,  where  are  the  nations  that 
kindled  its  flames  ?  Where  are  the  Assyrians 
and  the  Chaldeans  ?  Their  name  is  almost 
forgotten  ;  their  existence  is  known  only  to  his- 
tory. Where  is  the  empire  of  the  Egyptians  ? 
The  Macedonians  destroyed  it,  and  a  descend- 
ant of  its  ancient  race  cannot  be  distinguished 
among  the  strangers  who  have  ever  since  pos  • 
sessed  its  territory.     Where  are  they  of  Mace- 

*  Bishop  Newton. 

t  The  distinctive  character  and  preservation  of  the  Jew- 
ish nation  were  also  foretold  by  Baalam  when  he  prophe- 
sied that  the  people  should  dwell  alone,  and  should  not  he 
reckoned  [or  mingled]  among  the  nations.  Num.  xxiii,  9. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  133 

don  ?  The  Roman  sword  subdued  their  king- 
dom, and  their  posterity  are  mingled  insepa- 
rably among  the  confused  population  of  Greece 
and  Turkey.  Where  is  the  nation  of  ancient 
Rome,  the  last  conquerors  of  the  Jews,  and  the 
proud  destroyers  of  Jerusalem  ?  The  Goths 
rolled  their  flood  over  its  pride.  Another  na- 
tion inhabits  the  ancient  city.  Even  the  lan- 
guage of  her  former  people  is  dead.  The 
Goths ! — where  are  they  ?  The  Jews  !  where 
are  they  not?  They  witnessed  the  glory  of 
Egypt,  and  of  Babylon,  and  of  Nineveh ;  they 
were  in  mature  age  at  the  birth  of  Macedon, 
and  of  Rome ;  mighty  kingdoms  have  risen 
and  perished  since  they  began  to  be  scattered 
and  enslaved  ;  and  now  they  traverse  the  ruins 
of  all,  the  same  people  as  when  they  left  Ju- 
dea,  preserving  in  themselves  a  monument  of 
the  days  of  Moses  and  the  Pharaohs,  as  un- 
changed as  the  pyramids  of  Memphis,  which 
they  are  reputed  to  have  built."  "  You  may 
call  upon  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  will  call 
in  vain  for  one  living  representative  of  those 
powerful  nations  of  antiquity,  by  whom  the 
people  of  Israel  were  successively  oppressed." 
They  have  passed  away ;  their  shadows  alone 
haunt  the  world  and  flicker  upon  its  tablets.  But 
the  Jews  walk  in  every  street,  dwell  in  every 


134  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

capital,  traverse  every  exchange,  and  relieve 
the  monotony  of  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

"  Empires  have  sunk,  and  kingdoms  passed  away  ; 
But  still,  apart,  sublime  in  misery,  stands 
The  wreck  of  Israel ;" 

"  and  should  the  voice  which  is  hereafter  to 
gather  that  people  out  of  all  lands,  be  now 
heard  from  Mount  Zion,  calling  for  the  children 
of  Abraham,  no  less  than  four  millions  would 
instantly  answer  to  the  name,  each  bearing 
in  himself  unquestionable  proofs  of  that  noble 
lineage."* 

An  exact  estimate  of  the  number  of  Jews 
now  living  in  the  world  is  of  course  unattain- 
able ;  but  it  is  generally  believed  to  be  nearly 
equal  to  what  it  was  in  the  time  of  their  great- 
est prosperity,  under  David  and  Solomon.f 
Their  preservation  in  such  numbers,  for  so 
many  centuries,  under  circumstances  of  such 
singular  disadvantage,  and  in  defiance  of  such 
cruel  measures  as  have  been  employed  against 
them,  can  be  deemed  nothing  less  than  an  ex- 

*  M'llvaine's  Lectures. 

t  There  are  supposed  to  be  about  two  and  a  half  mil- 
lions in  Europe  ;  Asia  probably  contains  one  million  ;  Af- 
rica, about  six  hundred  thousand,  and  America,  twenty 
thousand. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  135 

isting,  perpetual  miracle.  "  It  can  be  explained 
by  no  fortuitous  circumstances  ;  it  admits  of 
no  evasion ;  it  stands  forth  a  palpable,  bold, 
unequivocal  proof  of  the  superintendence  of 
Providence,  the  truth  of  prophecy,  and  the  di- 
vine authority  of  the  Bible." 

He  that  "  would  see  a  sign,"  before  he  will 
believe  the  Scriptures,  may  in  the  Jews  behold 
"  a  sign  and  a  wonder,"  than  which  none  can 
be  greater.  Their  universal  dispersion,  their 
terrible  calamities,  and  their  wonderful  preser- 
vation, are  circumstances  that  Kind  no  parallel 
in  the  history  of  other  nations  :  yet  every  fea- 
ture in  their  extraordinary  history  was  distinct 
ly  foretold  more  than  three  thousand  years  ago, 
and  recorded  in  the  oldest  book  of  which  the 
world  has  any  knowledge.  The  man  who  after 
seriously  reviewing  the  history  of  this  "  pecu- 
liar people,"  and  comparing  it  with  the  predic- 
tions of  Scripture,  "  will  not  believe  Moses  and 
the  prophets,  neither  will  he  be  persuaded 
though  one  arose  from  the  dead." 

But  will  the  Jews  always  continue  an  outcast 
wandering  race,  objects  of  the  world's  scorn 
shut  up  in  darkness  and  unbelief?  "  Is  there  no 
balm  in  Gilead  ?"  And  will  "  the  health  of  the 
daughter   of  Israel"  never  be    "  recovered  ?' 


136  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

"  Hath  God  cast  away  his  people  ?  God  for- 
bid !"  Rom.  xi,  1.  Their  sorrows  shall  not  last 
for  ever.  There  are  prophecies  yet  unfulfilled, 
which  "  speak  better  things"  respecting  them 
than  those  of  whose  truth  they  have  been  so 
long  the  living  witnesses  : — 

"  Though  dimm'd  be  Israel's  glory  now — 

Forlorn  but  not  forsaken — 
Hope  doth  impart  a  fervent  glow, 

The  breath  of  prayer  to  waken, 
That  still  the  bright  and  morning  star 

May  shed  a  healing  ray  ; 
The  harbinger,  to  realms  afar, 

Of  Israel's  happier  day." — T.  G.  Nicholas. 

Yes ;  the  "  God  of  Abraham"  will  yet  be 
mindful  of  the  "  seed  of  Abraham."  "  They 
shall  return,  and  seek  the  Lord  their  God,  and 
David  their  king  ;  and  shall  fear  the  Lord  and 
his  goodness  in  the  latter  days,"  Hosea  iii,  5. 
With  "  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles,"  shall  they 
also  be  brought  in  ;  "  and  so  all  Israel  shall  be 
saved  ;  as  it  is  written,  *  There  shall  come  out 
of  Sion  the  Deliverer,  and  shall  turn  away  ungod^ 
liness  from  Jacob,^ "  Rom.  xi,  26.  "  The  Jews, 
now  buried  in  the  grave  of  tradition,  and  super- 
stition, and  mammon,  shall  hear  the  voice  of 
the  Son  of  God,  and  live."  Their  spiritual 
blindness  shall  be  dispelled  by  the  light  of  the 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  137 

gospel ;  and  they  shall  become  true  worship- 
pers of  the  God  of  their  fathers,  and  of  "  Jesus 
Christ  whom  he  has  sent."  "  The  cross  shall 
then  be  raised  in  glory,  amid  the  hosannahs  of 
the  people  who  once  raised  it  in  shame  and 
sorrow,  amid  execrations ;  and  they  who  re- 
jected Him  who  was  ordained  a  'light  to  lighten 
the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  his  people  Is- 
rael,' '  shall  look  on  Him  whom  they  have 
pierced,  and  mourn'  at  the  deeds  of  their  fa 
thers,  while  they  rejoice  at  the  grace  so  unde- 
servedly manifested  to  themselves."* 

It  is  perhaps  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at, 
that  so  few  Jews  have  hitherto  been  led  to  em- 
brace Christianity.  The  treatment  which  for 
centuries  they  endured,  in  countries  called 
Christian,  was  not  such  as  was  likely  to  win 
them  over  to  the  faith  of  the  gospel.  Although 
during  this  period  there  were  not  wanting  those 
who  laboured  to  effect  their  conversion,  yet  the 
influence  of  their  preaching  was  counteracted 
by  the  bitter  and  persecuting  spirit  with  which 
t  was  enforced.  In  modem  times,  the  Pro- 
testant churches  which  have  so  nobly  exerted 
themselves  to  send  the  glad  tidings  of  salva- 
tion to  all  nations,  have  strangely  neglected 
the  Jews.  Indeed,  they  would  seem  almost  to 
*  Fraser's  Magazine,  Sept.,  1840. 


138  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

have  considered  them  as  a  people  "  given  over 
to  a  reprobate  mind,"  whose  conversion  it  was 
hopeless  to  attempt  or  desire.  While  "  sea 
and  land"  have  been  "  compassed  to  make  pro- 
selytes," and  the  heralds  of  the  cross  have 
been  despatched  to  China  and  Greenland,  to 
India  and  Greece,  to  the  far  off  isles  of  the  sea, 
and  to  lands 

"  But  little  noticed,  and  of  little  note," 
comparatively  few  have  been  found  to  care  for 
the  souls  of  that  people  to  whom  were  first 
"  committed  the  oracles  of  God,"  and  "  of 
whom,  as  concerning  the  flesh,  Christ  came." 
But  we  trust  that  "  another  spirit"  is  about  to 
animate  the  churches.  The  case  of  the  Jews 
is  awakening  an  interest  which  it  never  before 
excited ;  and  many  a  pious  heart  is  beating  in 
unison  with  that  of  the  apostle  when  he  ex- 
claimed, "  My  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to 
God  for  Israel  is,  that  they  might  be  saved," 
Romans  x,  1. 

During  the  past  year  a  deputation  from  the 
Church  of  Scotland  visited  the  principal  settle- 
ments of  the  Jews  in  Europe  and  Western 
Asia,  and  the  facts  collected  by  them,  the  re- 
sults of  patient  personal  investigation,  are  of 
the  most  interesting  and  encouraging  charac- 
ter.    Although  this  chapter  has  already  been 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  139 

extended  beyond  the  original  design  of  the 
writer,  yet  he  cannot  refrain  from  making  a 
few  extracts  from  the  report  which  the  deputa- 
tion, on  their  return,  presented  to  the  general 
assembly  of  the  Scottish  Church. 

At  Smyrna,  which  contains  several  thou- 
sand Jews,  one  of  the  deputation  unexpectedly 
entering  the  house  of  a  respectable  Jewish 
family,  surprised  a  young  man  in  the  act  of 
reading  the  New  Testament.  The  gentleman 
expressing  his  delight  at  finding  him  thus  en- 
gaged, inquired  his  opinion  of  the  book  he  had 
been  reading.  He  replied,  "  It  is  the  best  book 
in  the  world,  and  the  Old  Testament  is  the  next 
best."  When  asked  why  he  did  not  openly 
avow  himself  a  Christian,  he  replied,  that  im- 
prisonment and  banishment  would  be  the  imme- 
diate consequence  of  his  doing  so  ;  but  if  these 
restraints  were  removed,  he  and  several  other 
young  men  in  Smyrna  would  publicly  embrace 
Christianity. 

At  Pest,  the  capital  of  Hungary,  Dr.  Keith, 
one  of  the  deputation,  was  detained  by  ill 
health  longer  than  he  intended.  This  city 
contains  upward  of  eleven  thousand  Jews,  and 
,  the  doctor  says, — "  There  are  at  least  three 
thousand  who  wholly  disregard  the  Talmud, 
and  renounce  the  superstition  and  mummery 


140  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECy, 

of  the  synagogue  *  They  have  a  simple  form 
of  worship  ;  the  master  preaches  to  the  congre- 
gation, which  consists  of  from  fifteen  hundred 
to  two  thousand,  on  their  own  sabbath,  from  the 
texts  of  the  Old  Testament.  It  is  the  easiest 
thing  to  discuss  with  them  the  Messiahship  of 
Jesus.  There  are  inquirers  from  time  to  time. 
One  aged  Jew  said,  '  O,  it  is  a  hard  thing  to  re- 
nounce opinions  which  have  been  believed  from 
youth  as  undoubted.'  If  I  had  remained  a  few 
weeks  longer  at  Pest,  every  hour  of  the  day 
some  inquiring  Jew  would  have  come  to  ask 
respecting  Christ. — The  number  of  Jews  in 
Hungary  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  at 
the  lowest  estimate,  and  some  rate  them  at 
double  that  number.     This  is  a  place  in  which, 

*  The  Jewish  rabbins  pretend  that  besides  the  written 
law,  God  communicated  to  Moses  many  other  laws  and 
regulations  which  were  not  committed  to  writing,  but 
transmitted  orally  from  one  generation  to  another,  and 
hence  called  "  the  tradition  of  the  elders."  The  Talmud 
is  a  collection  of  these  traditions,  with  a  commentary  upon 
them,  and  is  an  immense  work,  comprising  several  folio 
volumes.  Many  of  its  requisitions  are  frivolous  and  ab- 
surd, and  others  profane  and  unscriptural,  yet  the  rabbins 
teach,  and  most  of  the  Jews  believe,  that  it  is  of  equal,  if 
not  superior  authority  to  the  Bible.  For  a  further  ac- 
count of  it,  see  Prideaux's  Connections,  Clarke's  Com- 
mentary on  Matthew  xv,  2,  and  Watson's  Dictionary, 
page  631. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  141 

according  to  inquiry,  there  are  promising  open- 
ings for  a  mission  to  the  Jewish  nation  ;  to  them 
the  simplicity  of  the  gospel  is  altogether  un- 
known ;  as  yet  they  know  nothing  of  the  gospel 
but  from  the  corruptions  of  the  Greek  and  Ro- 
man Churches  ;  and  yet  conversions  are  made 
from  year  to  year.  If  the  Jew  can  be  convert- 
ed to  such  a  faith,  O,  may  he  not  be  led  rather 
to  Jesus  Christ,  without  shocking  his  natural 
feelings  at  the  idolatry  of  the  Gentiles  1  Shall 
the  call  be  in  vain  ?  It  is  for  the  general  assem- 
bly— it  is  for  the  church  of  Christ  to  answer." 
Another  of  the  deputation  reports,  that  "  the 
London  Society  for  the  Conversion  of  the  Jews 
have  an  interesting  and  effective  mission  in 
the  south  of  Palestine,  its  head  quarters  being 
Jerusalem."  He  further  states  that  "  it  is  the 
testimony  of  Professor  Tholuck  [of  Germany] 
that  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  century 
more  Jews  had  been  brought  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  Christian  faith  than  during  all  the  centu- 
ries preceding  from  the  death  of  Christ.  One 
of  the  ministers  of  Berlin  said  he  had  baptized 
with  his  own  hand,  of  late  years,  one  hundred 
and  twelve  Jews." 

To  the  present  improved  condition  of  the 
Jews    in  a  temporal  view,  we   have   already 


142  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

adverted,  [page  128.]  In  most  countries  ot 
Europe  they  are  not  only  free  from  persecu- 
tion, but  receive  the  same  protection  from  the 
laws,  and  enjoy  nearly  the  same  privileges  as 
other  citizens.  Every  succeeding  year  seems 
to  bring  with  it  some  additional  proof  of  their 
altered  circumstances,  and  of  the  diminution  of 
Gentile  prejudices.  Increase  of  kindly  feeling 
on  the  part  of  Christians  toward  the  Jews  will 
naturally  produce  some  degree  of  reciprocal 
feeling  on  their  part,  and  dispose  them  to  a 
more  favourable  investigation  of  the  claims  of 
Christianity.  From  various  accounts  it  ap- 
pears that  in  several  places  a  spirit  of  religious 
inquiry  is  already  awakened  among  them  ;  that 
the  Talmud,  which  has  hitherto  been  the  great- 
est obstacle  to  their  conversion,  is  fast  falling 
into  disrepute  ;  and  that,  weary  of  waiting  for  a 
Messiah  who  has  so  long  disappointed  their 
expectations,  many  are  beginning  to  ask  among 
themselves  whether  "he  that  should  come," has 
not  already  appeared.  Under  these  circum- 
stances may  we  not  hope,  that  even  now  the 
day  of  their  "  redemption  draweth  nigh,"  and 
that  "  the  veil"  which  "  is  upon  their  heart"  is 
about  to  be  "  taken  away?"  2  Cor.  iii,  15,  16. 
Surely,  if  missionaries  possessing  the  requisite 
qualifications  were  to  go  among  them,  like  the 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  143 

apostles  of  old,  "  visiting  from  house  to  house," 
and  "  preaching  in  the  synagogues,"  showing 
to  them  from  their  own  "  Scriptures  that  Jesus 
is  Christ,"  the  unbelief  which  has  hitherto  been 
proof  against  both  the  force  of  argument  and  the 
argument  of  force,  would  yield  to  the  influence 
of  truth  spoken  in  love.  As  Christians,  we  owe 
the  Jews  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  can  never 
be  fully  repaid.  To  them,  instrumentally,  we 
are  indebted  for  the  Scriptures,  not  only  of  the 
Old,  but  also  of  the  New  Testament ;  for  "  the 
glorious  company  of  the  apostles,"  as  well  as 
"  the  goodly  fellowship  of  the  prophets"  were 
Jews.  We  ought,  then,  to  do  at  least  as  much 
for  them  as  we  do  for  those  nations  who  have 
no  special  claims  upon  us.  "  Pray  for  the  peace 
of  Jerusalem." 

"  Have  they  stumbled  that  they  should  fall  ? 
God  forbid  :  but  through  their  fall  salvation  is 
come  unto  the  Gentiles,  for  to  provoke  them  to 
jealousy. — For  as  ye  [Gentiles]  in  times  past 
have  not  believed  God,  yet  have  now  obtained 
mercy  through  their  unbelief;  even  so  have 
these  also  now  not  believed  God,  that  through 
your  mercy  they  also  may  obtain  mercy.  Now,  if 
the  fall  of  them  be  the  riches  of  the  world,  and 
the  diminishing  of  them  be  the  riches  of  the 


144  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

Gentiles  ;  how  much  more  their  fulness  ? — If 
the  casting  away  of  them  be  the  reconciling  of 
the  world,  what  shall  the  receiving  of  them  be 
but  life  from  the  dead?"  Rom.  xi,  11,  &c. 

"  Father  of  faithful  Abraham,  hear 

Our  earnest  suit  for  Abraham's  seed ; 

Justly  they  claim  the  softest  prayer 
From  us,  adopted  in  their  stead, 

Who  mercy  through  their  fall  obtain, 

And  Christ  by  their  rejection  gain. 

Outcasts  from  thee,  and  scatter'd  wide. 
Through  every  nation  under  heaven. 

Blaspheming  whom  they  crucified, 
Unsaved,  unpitied,  unforgiven ; 

Branded  like  Cain,  they  bear  their  load, 

Abhorr'd  of  man,  and  cursed  of  God. 

But  hast  thou  finally  forsook, 

For  ever  cast  thy  own  away  1 
Wilt  thou  not  bid  the  murderers  look 

On  Him  they  pierced,  and  weep,  and  pray  1 
Yes,  gracious  Lord,  thy  word  is  past ; 
All  Israel  shall  be  saved  at  last. 

Come  then,  thou  great  Deliverer,  come. 
The  veil  from  Jacob's  heart  remove  : 

Receive  thy  ancient  people  home  I 
That,  quicken'd  by  thy  dying  love, 

The  world  may  their  reception  find. 

Life  from  the  dead  for  all  mankind." 

Charles  Wesley. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  145 

CHAPTER  V. 

PROPHECIES  CONCERNING  THE  HOLY  LAND. 

Interesting  associations  of  this  land— Its  situation,  extent,  and 
character— Pro{rfiecies  respecting  it — Were  partially  fulfilled  du- 
ring the  Babylonish  captivity— More  fully  accomplished  after  its 
subjection  by  the  Romans— Present  state  of  the  country  agrees 
with  the  prophecies— The  land  is  desolate— Testmony  of  Sandys, 
Volney,  Maundrell,  Addison,  Hardy,  Jowett,  Burckhardt,  and 
Joliffe— The  highways  are  desolate— Extracts  from  Hardy,  Vol- 
ney, Richardson,  Jowett,  and  Addison— The  cities  are  waste — 
Ruinous  state  of  the  ancient  cities  and  towns  as  described  by 
modem  travellers — Flourishing  condition  of  Galilee  in  the  time 
of  Josephus — Contrast  exhibited  in  its  present  state — Scripture 
accounts  of  the  former  populousness  and  abundance  of  tlie  Holy 
Land,  doubted  by  some  writers— Confirmed  by  the  positive  testi- 
mony of  history,  and  by  the  present  indications  of  the  country — 
Testimony  of  Gibbon  and  Volney  to  these  facts — Remarkable  ve- 
rification of  Scripture  prophecy,  from  Volney's  Ruins — Unfulfilled 
prophecies  of  the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  the  future  pros- 
perity of  the  Holy  Land — Poem. 

We  have  shown  in  the  two  preceding  chap- 
ters how  literally  and  fearfully  have  been  ac- 
complished the  threatenings  of  Jehovah  against 
the  disobedient  Jews.  We  will  now  proceed 
to  exhibit  the  fulfilment  of  those  prophecies 
which  refer  to  their  ancient  country :  for  the 
judgments  of  the  Lord  were  not  pronounced 
against  the  people  only :  God  "  cursed  the 
ground"  also,  for  their  sakes ;  and  the  land  in 
which  they  dwelt  was,  equally  with  themselves, ' 
the  object  of  prophetic  denunciation. 
10 


146  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

There  is  no  other  spot  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  that  is  regarded  by  the  Christian  with 
feelings  of  such  intense  interest  and  curiosity 
as  the  Holy  Land.  Every  portion  of  its  varied 
territory,  its  mountains,  its  valleys,  its  lakes,  its 
rivers,  and  even  its  deserts,  are  rendered  sacred 
in  his  eyes,  by  some  deeply  interesting  asso- 
ciation. There  it  was  that  Jehovah  establish- 
ed the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  inspired  his 
prophets,  sent  angels  to  converse  with  men, 
and  manifested  his  power  and  his  presence  in 
a  peculiar  manner.  There  the  worship  of  the 
one  true  God  was  preserved  and  perpetuated  for 
more  than  fifteen  centuries  ;  for  "  in  Judah  was 
God  known,  and  his  name  was  great  in  Israel," 
while  all  the  rest  of  the  world  was  sunk  in  the 
grossest  superstition  and  idolatry. 

"  Blest  land  of  Judea  !  thrice  hallow'd  of  song, 
"Where  the  holiest  of  memories  pilgrim-like  throng, 
In  the  shade  of  thy  palms,  by  the  shores  of  thy  sea, 
On  the  hills  of  thy  beauty,  my  heart  is  with  thee. 

With  the  eye  of  a  spirit  I  look  on  that  shore 
Where  pilgrim  and  prophet  have  linger'd  before ; 
With  the  glide  of  a  spirit  I  traverse  the  sod 
Made  bright  by  the  steps  of  the  angels  of  God." 

Whittier. 

But,  above  all,  this  land  is  hallowed  as  be- 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  147 

ing  the  place  which  was  honoured  by  the  per 
sonal  ministry  of  the  Messiah — the  Son  of  God. 

"  Here  his  blessing  was  heard,  and  his  lessons  were  taught. 
Here  the  blind  was  restored,  and  the  healing  was  wrought," 

and  here  he  accomplished  the  mystery  of  man's 
redemption  by  the  offering  of  himself  as  an 
atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 

This  interesting  country — ^the  scene  of  Scrip- 
ture history,  the  theatre  of  miracle  and  of  pro- 
phecy— ^lies  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Medi- 
terranean Sea,  which  forms  its  western  bound- 
ary, between  the  thirty-first  and  thirty-fourth 
degrees  of  north  latitude.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  mountains  of  Lebanon ;  on  the 
south  by  the  deserts  of  Arabia ;  and  on  the  east 
by  the  desert  of  Syria  and  the  Dead  Sea. 

As  early  as  the  time  of  Abraham,  this  favour- 
ed spot  was  designated  by  God  as  the  chosen 
residence  of  his  "  peculiar  people."  "  To  thee 
will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  for  ever,"  was 
the  promise  of  Jehovah  respecting  it,  to  that 
patriarch.  Nor  was  it  unworthy  of  the  distinc- 
tion thus  conferred  upon  it ;  for  although  incon- 
siderable in  point  of  extent,  being  only  about  one 
hundred  and  eighty  miles  long,  with  an  average 
breadth  of  not  more  than  seventy,  yet  such 
was  the  salubrity  of  its  climate  and  the  fertility 


148  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

of  its  soil,  that  it  was  not  only  abundantly  ca- 
pable of  supplying  the  wants  of  its  inhabitants, 
even  when  most  densely  peopled,  but  also  fur- 
nished a  large  surplus  of  com  which  they  dis- 
posed of  to  the  Phenicians  of  Tyre  and  Sidon. 
1  Kings  V,  11;  Ezek.  xxvii,  7;  Acts  xii,  20. 
"  It  had  enough  of  mountain,  and  stream,  and 
lake,  and  sea,  to  render  it  complete  in  its  own 
resources ;"  while  the  natural  barriers,  with 
which  it  was  surrounded  on  all  sides,  rendered 
it  easy  of  defence  against  foreign  invasion. 
"  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten,  that  its  position,  al- 
most in  the  centre  of  the  three  great  continents 
of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  was  the  most  de- 
sirable that  could  have  been  chosen  *  when  the 
fulness  of  time  was  come,'  and  the  blessings 
of  revelation  and  redemption  were  to  be  scat- 
tered among  the  dwellers  upon  earth."* 

The  general  appearance  and  character  of  the 
country  were  thus  accurately  described  by  Mo- 
ses to  the  children  of  Israel  while  on  their  way 
thither  : — "  The  land  whither  thou  goest  in  to 
possess  it,  is  not  as  the  land  of  Egypt,  from 
whence  ye  came  out,  where  thou  sowedst  thy 
seed  and  wateredst  it  with  thy  foot,  as  a  gar- 
den of  herbs :  but  the  land  whither  ye  go  to 
possess  it,  is  a  land  of  hills  and  valleys,  and 
/  *  Hardy. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  149 

drinketh  water  of  the  rain  of  heaven. — For  the 
Lord  thy  God  bringeth  thee  into  a  good  land, 
a  land  of  brooks  of  water,  of  fountains,  and 
depths  that  spring  out  of  valleys  and  hills ;  a 
land  of  wheat,  and  barley,  and  vines,  and  fig- 
trees,  and  pomegranates  ;  a  land  of  oil-olive, 
and  honey ;  a  land  wherein  thou  shalt  eat 
bread  without  scarceness,  thou  shalt  not  lack 
any  thing  in  it,"  Deut.  viii,  7-9;  xi,  10,  11. 

The  abundant  supply  of  water  is  thus  promi- 
nently mentioned,  "  as  being  the  most  import- 
ant circumstance  in  an  oriental  country,  where 
its  value  is  incalculable.  Only  one  who  has 
travelled  in  the  East,  and  knows  practically 
the  astonishing  difference  between  a  watered 
and  unwatered  country,  can  enter  into  the  full 
force  of  this  foremost  characteristic  of  the  Pro- 
mised land.  The  reader  who  looks  on  a  general 
map  will  see  at  a  glance  that  there  is  no  coun- 
try in  Western  Asia  more  liberally  supplied 
with  streams  of  water.  The  benefit  of  these 
streams  is  incalculable,  although,  as  is  the  case 
in  those  regions  with  all  streams  of  no  consider- 
able magnitude,  they  are  [except  the  Jordan] 
rather  winter  torrents  than  rivers."* 

Unlike  Egypt,  which  is  exceedingly  plain 
and  level,  Canaan  was  diversified  with  hills 
*  Pictorial  Bible 


150  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

and  valleys,  which  not  only  added  to  the  beauty 
of  the  scenery,  but  also,  by  varying  the  tempe- 
rature of  the  country,  rendered  it  capable  of 
producing  the  fruits  of  the  most  distant  cli- 
mates. Under  the  sway  of  the  Canaanites  it 
brought  forth  in  such  abundance,  that  even  the 
spies  sent  by  Moses,  while  they  endeavoured 
to  dissuade  the  Israelites  from  attempting  to 
possess  it,  were  constrained  to  say  concerning 
it,  "  It  is  a  good  land  which  the  Lord  our  God 
doth  give  us,"  Niun.  xiii,  27 ;  Deut.  i,  25.  In 
other  parts  of  Scripture  it  is  called  "  the  plea- 
sant land,"  Psa.  cvi,  24 ;  Zech.  vii,  14  ;  "  the 
glory  of  all  lands,"  Ezek.  xx,  6 ;  and  in  many 
places  it  is  termed  "  a  land  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey." 

Such  then  was  the  country  which  God  gave 
to  Israel  for  a  possession : — 

"  A  land  of  com,  and  wine,  and  oil, 
Favour'd  with  God's  peculiar  smile, 
With  every  blessing  blest." 

But  its  glory  and  abundance  were  to  continue 
only  so  long  as  the  Israelites  remained  faith- 
ful to  their  covenant  with  God.  Before  they 
set  foot  on  their  promised  inheritance,  Jeho- 
vah, by  the  mouth  of  his  servant  Moses,  thus 
solemnly  warned  them  of  the  consequences  of 
violating  his  commands  : — 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  151 

"  If  ye  walk  contrary  unto  me,  and  will  not 
hearken  unto  me,  I  will  bring  seven  times 
more  plagues  upon  you  according  to  your  sins. 
— And  your  liighways  shall  be  desolate  ;  and  I 
will  make  your  cities  waste,  and  bring  your 
sanctuaries  into  desolation. — And  I  will  brir.g 
the  land  into  desolation :  and  your  ene'^nies 
which  dwell  therein  shall  be  astonished  at  it. 
And  I  will  scatter  you  among  the  heathen,  and 
I  will  draw  out  a  sword  after  you,  and  your 
land  shall  be  desolate,  and  your  cities  waste. 
Then  shall  the  land  enjoy  her  sabbaths,*  as 
long  as  it  lieth  desolate,  and  ye  be  in  your 
enemies'  land ;  even  then  shall  the  land  rest, 
and  enjoy  her  sabbaths,"  Levit.  xxvi,  21,  22, 
31-34.  "  The  generation  to  come  of  your  chil- 
dren that  shall  rise  up  after  you,  and  the  stran- 
ger that  shall  come  from  a  far  land,  shall  say, 
when  they  see  the  plagues  of  that  land,  and  the 
sicknesses  which  the  Lord  hath  laid  upon  it ;  and 

*  The  land  shall  enjoy  her  sabbaths — ^that  is,  it  shall  lie 
waste  and  uncultivated.  The  expression  has  reference  to 
that  injunction  of  the  Mosaic  law  by  which  the  Jews  were 
forbidden  to  cultivate  the  ground  every  seventh  year ;  this 
year  was  called  "  the  sabbath  of  the  land,"  because  in  it 
the  land  had  rest.  During  this  sabbatical  year  the  people 
were  to  subsist  on  the  superabundance  of  the  preceding 
year,  in  which  the  ground  produced  a  treble  crop.  Leviti- 
cus XXV,  2-7,  21,  22. 


152  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

that  the  whole  land  thereof  is  brimstone,  and  salt, 
and  burning,*  that  it  is  not  sown,  nor  beareth,nor 
any  grass  groweth  therein,  like  the  overthrow 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  Admah  and  Zeboim, 
which  the  Lord  overthrew  in  his  anger,  and  in 
his  wrath :  even  all  nations  shall  say,  *  Where- 
fore hath  the  Lord  done  this  unto  this  land? 
What  meaneth  the  heat  of  this  great  anger  V 
Then  men  shall  say,  '  Because  they  have  for- 
saken the  covenant  of  the  Lord  God  of  their 
fathers,  which  he  made  with  them  when  he 
brought  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,' "  Deu- 
teronomy xxix,  22-25. 

The  faithful  warnings  of  Moses  being  disre- 
garded by  the  Jews,  Jehovah,  in  after  times, 
sent  other  prophets  unto  them,  "  rising  up  early 
and  sending  them,  and  saying,  '  Turn  ye  from 
the  evil  of  your  doings,  and  dwell  in  the  land 
that  the  Lord  hath  given  to  you  and  to  your 

*  These  expressions  are  not  to  be  understood  literally, 
being  only  strong  figures  of  speech  to  denote  extreme  de- 
solation and  barrenness  ;  and  in  this  way  they  are  still 
used  in  the  East.  Mr.  Roberts,  in  his  Oriental  Illustra- 
tions, says,  "  When  a  place  is  noted  for  being  unhealthy, 
or  the  land  very  unfruitful,  it  is  called  kenthago  poomy,  a 
place  or  country  of  brimstone.  Trincomalee,  and  some 
other  places,  have  gained  this  appellation  on  account  of 
the  heat  and  sterility  of  their  soils." 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  153 

fathers  for  ever  :  and  go  not  after  other  gods  to 
serve  them,  and  provoke  me  not  to  anger  with 
the  work  of  your  hands  ;  and  I  will  do  you  no 
hurt.' — Yet  they  obeyed  not,  nor  inclined  their 
ear,  but  walked  every  one  in  the  imagination 
of  their  evil  heart ;"  and  in  consequence  there- 
of, the  Lord  has  brought  upon  their  country 
"  all  the  curses  which  were  written"  in  his 
book  "  concerning"  it. 

This  was  accomplished,  first,  when  Judah 
was  carried  away  captive  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
at  which  time  the  land  lay  desolate  seventy 
years.  Jeremiah,  the  "  weeping  prophet,"  thus 
mournfully  describes  the  affliction  of  the  land 
at  this  period : — 

"  How  hath  the  Lord  covered  the  daughter  of  Zion  with 

a  cloud  in  his  anger, 
And  cast  down  from  heaven  unto  the  earth  the  beauty 

of  Israel, 
And  remembered  not  his  footstool  in  the  day  of  his  anger ! 
The  Lord  was  an  enemy  :  he  hath  swallowed  up  Israel, 
He  hath  swallowed  up  all  her  palaces  ; 
He  hath  destroyed  her  strong  holds, 
And  hath  increased  in  the  daughter  of  Judah  mourning 

and  lamentation. 
The  Lord  hath  cast  off  his  altar, 
He  hath  abhorred  his  sanctuary, 
He  hath  given  up  into  the  hand  of  the  enemy  the  walls 

of  her  palaces. 
He  hath  destroyed  and  broken  her  bars ; 


154  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

Her  king  and  her  princes  are  among  the  Gentiles. 

All  that  pass  by  her  clap  their  hands, 

They  hiss  and  wag  their  head  at  the  daughter  of  Jeru- 
salem, 

Saying,  *  Is  this  the  city  that  men  call  the  perfection  of 
beauty,  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth  !' 

Our  inheritance  is  turned  to  strangers, 

Our  houses  to  aliens. 

For  this  our  heart  is  faint ; 

For  these  things  our  eyes  are  dim ; 

Because  of  the  mountain  of  Zion  which  is  desolate. 

The  foxes  walk  upon  it. 

The  crown  is  fallen  from  our  head ; 

Wo  unto  us,  that  we  have  sinned !" 

Lam.  ii,  1,  6,  7,  9, 15  ;  v,  2,  17, 18,  16. 

But  the  predictions  of  Moses  were  more  espe- 
cially fulfilled  in  the  judgments  visited  upon 
Judea  and  its  inhabitants  by  the  Romans,  and 
the  almost  perpetual  desolation  of  the  country 
since  that  period.  While  the  Jews  are  now  in 
their  "  enemies'  land,"  suffering  the  punishment 
of  their  sins,  the  actual  state  of  their  own  land, 
as  it  now  is,  and  for  many  centuries  has  been, 
exactly  corresponds  with  the  prophecies  de- 
livered by  their  leader  and  lawgiver,  upward 
of  three  thousand  years  ago. 

"  /  will  bring  your  land  into  desolation — your 
land  shall  he  desolate. — The  accomplishment  of 
this  prediction  is  coniirmed  by  the  testimony 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  155 

of  history,  and  of  every  traveller  who  has  visit- 
ed the  country.  In  the  first  and  second  centu- 
ries, Palestine  was  devastated  by  the  wars  with 
the  Romans,  until  the  country  was  literally 
converted  into  a  desert.  It  continued  subject 
to  the  power  of  Rome  until  it  was  seized  \ipon 
and  laid  waste  by  the  Arabian  tribes  collected 
under  the  banner  of  Mohammed.  It  was  after 
this  torn  in  pieces  by  the  civil  wars  between 
the  two  rival  sects  of  Mohammedans,  wrested 
from  the  caliphs  by  their  rebellious  governors, 
taken  from  them  by  the  Turcoman  soldiers, 
several  times  invaded  by  the  European  crusa- 
ders, retaken  by  the  mamalukes  of  Egypt,  ra- 
vaged by  Tamerlane  and  his  Tartars,  and  at 
last  reduced  to  subjection  by  the  Turks. 

It  is  easy  to  conceive  the  lamentable  condi- 
tion of  a  country  almost  depopulated  by  a  series 
of  desolating  wars,  frequently  changing  mas- 
ters, and  at  length  falling  under  the  dominion 
of  a  wretched  and  tyrannical  government  like 
that  of  Turkey,  which,  while  it  has  strength 
sufficient  to  oppress  the  miserable  inhabitants, 
and  deprive  them  of  the  fruits  of  their  industry, 
is  yet  unable  to  protect  them  from  the  hordes 
of  wandering  Arabs  who  people  the  surround- 
ing deserts,  and  to  whose  predatory  incursions 
they  are  continually  exposed. 


156  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

"  Thus  moum,  beneath  the  oppressor's  rod, 
The  fields  where  faithful  Abraham  trod, 
Where  Isaac  walk'd  by  twilight  gleam, 
And  heaven  came  down  on  Jacob's  dream." 

J.  Montgomery. 

To  the  desolate  condition  of  the  land  all  tra- 
vellers bear  witness.  Sandys,  in  1610,  speak- 
ing of  Palestine  and  the  adjacent  lands,  says, — 
"  These  countries,  once  so  glorious  and  famous 
for  their  happy  estate,  are  now,  through  vice 
and  ingratitude,  become  the  most  deplored  spec- 
tacles of  extreme  miserie.  Those  rich  lands 
at  this  present  remaine  waste  and  overgrowne 
with  bushes,  receptacles  of  wild  beasts,  of 
theeues  and  murderers ;  large  territories  dis- 
peopled or  thinly  inhabited  ;  goodly  cities  made 
desolate  ;  sumptuous  buildings  become  mines  ; 
glorious  temples  either  subverted  or  prostituted 
to  impiety;  true  religion  discountenanced  and 
oppressed ;  all  nobility  extinguished ;  no  light 
of  learning  permitted,  nor  vertue  cherished : 
violence  and  rapine  insulting  ouer  all,  and 
leaning  no  security  save  to  an  abject  mind,  and 
vnlookt  on  pouerty." 

Speaking  of  Syria  in  general,  of  which  coun- 
try Palestine  now  forms  a  part,  Volney  re- 
marks,— "  The  people,  denied  the  enjoyment  of 
the  fruit  of  their  labours,  restrain  their  industry 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  157 

to  the  supply  of  their  necessary  wants.  The 
husbandman  only  sows  to  keep  himself  from 
starving.  The  condition  of  the  peasants  is 
miserable.  The  art  of  cultivation  is  in  the 
most  deplorable  state ;  the  husbandman  is  des- 
titute of  instruments,  or  has  very  bad  ones  ;  his 
plough  is  frequently  no  more  than  the  branch 
of  a  tree,  cut  below  a  bifurcation,  and  used 
without  wheels. — In  the  mountains  they  do  not 
prune  their  vines,  and  they  nowhere  ingraft 
trees. — In  the  districts  exposed  to  the  Arabs, 
as  in  Palestine,  the  countryman  must  sow  with 
his  musket  in  his  hand.  Scarcely  does  the 
corn  turn  yellow,  before  it  is  reaped,  and  con- 
cealed in  matmoures,  or  subterranean  caverns. 
As  little  as  possible  is  saved  for  seed  corn,  be- 
cause they  sow  no  more  than  is  barely  neces- 
sary for  subsistence  ;  in  a  word,  their  whole  in- 
dustry is  limited  to  a  supply  of  their  immediate 
wants  ;  and  to  procure  a  little  bread,  a  few 
onions,  a  wretched  blue  shirt,  and  a  bit  of  wool- 
len, much  labour  is  not  necessary."  At  the 
conclusion  of  his  work,  he  says,  that  after  hav- 
ing lived  for  some  time  in  these  "  once  flour- 
ishing and  populous,  but  now  desolate  and  bar- 
barous countries,"  he  could  not,  on  his  return 
to  France,  avoid  feeling  a  kind  of  surprise, 
when,  "  instead  of  those  ruined  countries  and 


158  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

vast  deserts,"  to  which  he  had  been  accustom- 
ed, he  found  himself  in  a  well-cultivated  and 
populous  territory. 

Maundrell,  when  journeying  southward  from 
Nablous,the  ancient Shechem, observes, — "All 
along  this  day's  travel  from  Kane  Leban  to 
Beer,  [which  lies  about  ten  miles  north  of  Je- 
rusalem,] and  also,  as  far  as  we  could  see 
around,  the  country  presents  nothing  to  the 
view  in  most  places  but  naked  rocks,  mount- 
ains, and  precipices,  at  sight  of  which  pilgrims 
are  apt  to  be  much  astonished  and  balked  in 
their  expectations  ;  finding  that  country  in  such 
an  inhospitable  condition,  concerning  whose 
pleasantness  and  plenty  they  had  before  formed 
in  their  minds  such  high  ideas,  from  the  de- 
scription given  of  it  in  the  word  of  God."  Of 
the  once  fertile  plain  of  Jericho  he  says,  it  is 
now  "  extremely  barren,  producing  nothing  but 
a  kind  of  samphire  and  other  marine  plants ; 
and  in  many  places  where  puddles  of  water  had 
stood  in  the  road,  we  observed  a  whiteness  on 
the  ground,  which  we  found  to  be  a  crust  of 
salt,  raised  by  the  water  out  of  the  earth."  Of 
the  plain  of  Acre  (the  ancient  Ptolemais)  he 
tells  us  : — "  It  was  once  a  delicious  plain  ;  but  it 
is  now    for  want  of  culture,  overrun  with  rank 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  159 

weeds,  which  at  the  time  when  we  passed  it 
were  as  high  as  the  horses'  backs." 

Burckhardt  states,  that  "  the  greater  part  of 
the  valley  of  the  Jordan  is  a  parched  desert,  of 
which  a  few  spots  only  are  cultivated  by  the 
Bedouins. 

Of  the  celebrated  plain  of  Esdraelon,  where 
the  tribe  of  Issachar  "  rejoiced  in  their  tents," 
and  whose  soil  is  the  richest  of  any  in  Pales- 
tine, Mr.  Addison  says, — "  After  riding  among 
undulating  hills  for  about  an  hour,  we  entered 
the  broad  flat  plain  of  Esdraelon.  It  is  silent 
and  solitary  over  its  wide  extent,  presenting  an 
appearance  very  similar  to  the  desert  plains 
leading  to  Palmyra.  It  possesses  a  most  fer- 
tile soil ;  and  the  rich  black  mould,  parched 
and  dusty,  was  covered  with  a  dense  and  luxu- 
riant crop  of  thistles  and  weeds.  In  no  part 
of  the  wide  surface  of  this  lifeless  plain  could 
a  tree  be  seen,  a  single  village,  a  single  town, 
a  single  cultivated  enclosed  field,  or  a  solitary 
human  habitation."  Mr.  Hardy  remarks,  that 
"  the  soil  is  in  some  places  more  than  six  feet 
thick,  and  exceedingly  rich,  and  were  the  plain 
well  cultivated,  it  would  be  one  of  the  most 
productive  in  the  world.  It  is  about  fifty  miles 
long,  and  twenty  broad."      He   observed  "  a 


160  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

few  small  villages  scattered  over  its  surface 
but  not  perhaps  a  hundredth  part  of  the  num- 
ber it  is  well  able  to  sustain."  Dr.  Clarke 
terms  it  "  a  solitude,"  and  compares  it  to  "  a 
vast  meadow  covered  with  the  richest  pasture." 
Mr.  Jowett  says, — "  We  counted,  in  our  road 
across  the  plain,  only  five  very  small  villages, 
consisting  of  wretched  mud  hovels,  chiefly  in 
ruins.  On  this  noble  plain,  if  there  were  perfect 
security  from  the  government, — a  thing  now 
unknown  for  centuries, — where  we  saw  but  five 
small  villages,  twenty-five  good  towns,  each 
with  a  population  of  one  thousand  souls,  might 
stand  at  a  distance  of  three  miles  from  each 
other." 

Mr.  Jolifie,  writing  from  Jerusalem,  says, — 
"  From  the  centre  of  the  neighbouring  eleva- 
tions is  seen  a  wild,  rugged,  and  mountainous 
desert ;  no  herds  depasturing  on  the  summits, 
no  forests  clothing  the  acclivities,  no  waters 
flowing  through  the  valleys ;  but  one  rude  scene 
of  melancholy  waste,  in  the  midst  of  which  the 
ancient  glory  of  Judea  bows  her  head  in  widow- 
ed desolation."  "  All  around  Jerusalem,"  says 
Dr.  Richardson,  "  the  general  aspect  is  blight- 
ed and  barren ;  the  grass  is  withered  ;  the  bare 
rocks  look  through  the  scanty  sward  ;  the  grain 
itself,   like   the   starving  progeny  of  famine, 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  161 

seems  in  doubt  whether  to  come  to  maturity  or 
die  in  the  ear." 

Mr.  Hardy  says, — "  In  looking  at  some  of 
the  barren  hills  of  Judea,  where  the  beast  wan- 
ders not,  the  bird  flies  not,  and  the  grass  grows 
not,  I  have  seen  the  impress  of  the  curse  of 
God,  in  more  dreadful  characters  than  are  to 
be  seen  elsewhere  on  this  side  the  grave ;  a 
sight  rendered  still  more  striking  by  the  beau- 
tiful flowers,  and  the  patches  of  flourishing 
grain,  that  here  and  there  present  themselves, 
as  if  to  show  what  the  land  was  once,  and  what 
it  again  may  be,  when  the  blessing  of  the  Lord 
shall  rest  upon  the  city  and  upon  the  field,  and 
the  labour  of  man's  hand  be  refreshed  by  the 
former  and  latter  rain." 

The  highways  shall  he  desolate. — There  have 
probably  been  few  countries  between  the  va- 
rious parts  of  which  there  was  so  frequent 
and  regular  an  intercourse  as  in  Pales- 
tine, while  inhabited  by  the  children  of  Israel. 
Three  times  every  year  were  all  the  males, 
from  every  part  of  the  country,  required,  by  the 
precepts  of  their  law,  to  present  themselves 
before  the  Lord  in  Jerusalem,  on  which  occa- 
sions they  were  not  unfrequently  accompanied 
by  their  wives  and  families.  Deut.  xvi,  16 ; 
11 


162  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

Luke  ii,  41-44.  On  the  recurrence  of  these  pe- 
riodical pilgrimages,  the  "highways," — throng- 
ed with  persons  of  all  ages  and  of  both  sexes 
— old  men  and  venerable  matrons,  the  time  of 
whose  departure  was  at  hand,  young  men  re- 
joicing in  their  strength,  and  the  daughters  of 
Israel  blooming  in  youth  and  beauty — some 
journeying  on  foot,  others  travelling  by  the  va- 
rious modes  of  conveyance  used  in  those  days 
— must  have  presented  a  spectacle  of  the  most 
picturesque  and  animated  character.  But  now, 
how  changed  the  scene  !  "  The  paths  are  de- 
serted where  the  tribes  once  approached  from 
the  most  distant  parts  to  the  festivals  of  the 
temple."*  "  The  ways  of  Zion  do  mourn  be- 
cause none  come  to  her  solemn  feasts. — The 
highways  lie  waste,  the  wayfaring  man  ceas- 
eth."  "  In  the  interior  parts  of  Syria  there 
are  neither  great  roads,  nor  canals,  nor  even 
bridges  over  the  greatest  parts  of  the  rivers 
and  torrents,  however  necessary  they  may  be 
in  winter.  Between  town  and  town  there  are 
neither  posts  nor  public  conveyances. — No- 
body travels  alone,  from  the  insecurity  of  the 
roads.  One  must  wait  for  several  travellers 
who  are  going  to  the  same  place,  or  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  passage  of  some  great  man,  who 
*  Hardy. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  163 

assumes  the  office  of  protector,  but  is  more  fre- 
quently the  oppressor  of  the  caravan.  These  pre- 
cautions are,  above  all,  necessary  in  the  countries 
exposed  to  the  Arabs,  such  as  Palestine. — It  is 
remarkable,  that  we  never  see  either  a  wagon, 
or  a  cart,  in  all  Syria."*  "  Among  the  hills  of 
Palestine,  the  road  is  impassable,  and  the  tra- 
veller finds  himself  among  a  set  of  infamous 
and  ignorant  thieves,  who  would  cut  his  throat 
for  a  farthing,  and  rob  him  of  his  money  for 
the  mere  pleasure  of  doing  it."t 

Mr.  Jowett,  speaking  of  his  journey  across 
the  great  plain  of  Esdraelon,  says, — "  We  saw 
very  few  persons  on  the  road ;  we  might  truly 
apply  to  this  scene  the  words  of  Deborah, — 
The  highways  were  unoccupied^''  Judges  v,  6,  7. 
In  another  place  he  remarks, — "  From  the  win- 
dow of  the  khan  where  we  are  lodging,  we 
have  a  clear  view  of  the  tract  over  which  Eli- 
jah must  have  passed,  when  he  girded  up  his 
loins,  and  ran  before  the  chariot  of  Ahab  to  the 
entrance  of  Jezreel.  1  Kings  xviii,  44-46.  But 
in  the  present  day,  no  chariots  are  to  be  seen — 
not  even  a  single  wheel  carriage  of  any  descrip- 
tion whatever. — The  roads  among  the  mountains 
are  so  neglected — such  mere  single  foot  paths 
— that  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  in  what  way  cha- 
*  Volney.  f  Dr.  Richardson. 


164  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

riots  could  now  convey  the  traveller  to  Jerusa- 
lem, or  over  the  chief  part  of  the  Holy  Land." 
"  What  a  contrast,"  observes  Mr.  Addison, 
"  does  the  present  aspect  of  the  land  bear  to 
its  past  state  !  Where  are  now  the  towns  and 
villages  mentioned  in  the  Roman  itineraries, 
the  numerous  *  vi(B  publiccBJ'  or  public  highways 
therein  enumerated,  and  the  population  and 
productions  of  time  past,  when  '  the  land  was 
full  of  horses,  neither  was  there  any  end  of 
chariots,'  Isa.  ii,  7. — There  is  now  no  such 
thing  as  a  carriage  or  chariot  in  the  whole 
country,  nor  a  single  carriage  road." 

Your  land  shall  be  desolate,  and  your  cities 
waste. — The  one  was  the  necessary  result  of 
the  other.  The  country  being  desolate  and  un- 
cultivated, its  ancient  cities,  once  so  numerous, 
powerful,  and  populous,  as  a  natural  and  an 
inevitable  consequence,  have  fallen  to  decay. 

Jerusalem,  once  "  beautiful  for  situation,  the 
joy  of  the  whole  earth,"  is  now  nothing  more 
than  an  ordinary  Syrian  town  of  the  third  or 
fourth  class,  with  a  population  of  not  more 
than  from  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand.  "  This 
town,"  remarks  Volney,  "  presents  a  striking 
example  of  the  vicissitudes  of  human  affairs  : 
when  we  behold  its  walls  levelled,  its  ditches 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  165 

filled  up,  and  all  its  buildings  embarrassed  with 
ruins,  we  can  scarcely  believe  we  view  that 
celebrated  metropolis  which  formerly  withstood 
the  efforts  of  the  most  powerful  empires,  and, 
for  a  time,  resisted  the  arms  of  Rome  herself; 
— in  a  word,  we  with  difficulty  recognise  Jeru- 
salem." "Jerusalem,"  says  Mr.  Hardy,  "is 
one  of  the  dullest  places  I  ever  entered ; — it 
has  lost  its  rank  in  political  importance — there 
is  now  no  higher  power  than  a  delegated  go- 
vernor, who  is  a  person  of  comparatively  low 
rank."  Dr.  Olin  tells  us  that  a  large  number 
of  the  houses  are  in  a  dilapidated  and  ruinous 
condition  ;  and  that  nearly  the  whole  popula- 
tion are  in  a  state  of  the  most  abject  poverty 
and  wretchedness,  the  result  of  oppression,  the 
absence  of  trade,  and  the  utter  stagnation  of  all 
branches  of  industry. 
"  How  doth  the  city  sit  solitary,  that  was  full  of  people  ! 

How  is  she  become  as  a  widow  ! 

She  that  was  great  among  the  nations, 

And  princess  among  the  provinces, 

How  is  she  become  tributary  ! 

From  the  daughter  of  Zion  all  her  beauty  is  departed ;  • 

Her  children  are  gone  into  captivity  before  the  enemy ; — 

For  the  Lord  hath  afflicted  her  for  the  multitude  of  her 
transgressions."  Lam.  i,  1,  5,  6. 

Samaria,  the  capital  of  the  short-lived  and 
wicked  kingdom  of  Israel,  is  reduced  to  almost 


166  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

complete  desolation.  This  city  was  beautifully- 
situated.  It  occupied  the  summit  of  a  large,  well- 
shaped,  oval  hill,  surrounded  by  a  fruitful  valley, 
and  enclosed  on  all  sides  by  hills  equally  beau- 
tiful. "  It  would  be  difficult,"  says  Dr.  Robinson, 
"  to  find  in  all  Palestine  a  situation  of  equal 
strength,  fertility,  and  beauty  combined.  In  all 
these  particulars  it  has  very  greatly  the  advan- 
tage over  Jerusalem."  Concerning  this  place 
the  following  prophecies  were  delivered : — 

*' Samaria  shall  become  desolate; 

For  she  hath  rebelled  against  her  God." — Hos.  xiii  16. 
"  I  wiU  make  Samaria  as  a  heap  of  the  field, 

And  as  plantings  of  a  vineyard : 

And  I  will  pom*  down  the  stones  thereof  into  the  vaUey, 

And  I  will  discover  the  fomidations  thereof. — Mic.i,6. 

Samaria  was  taken,  after  a  seige  of  three  years, 
by  the  king  of  Assyria.  2  Kings  xvii,  5,  6.  Jose- 
phus  (Ant.  b.  xiii,  c.  10)  tells  us  that  it  was  again 
taken,  after  a  seige  of  one  year,  by  John  Hyr- 
canus,  who  razed  it  to  the  ground.  It  was  re- 
built, and  strongly  fortified,  by  Herod,  who  gave 
it  the  name  of  Sebaste.  The  present  appear- 
ance of  the  place  shows  the  literal  fulfilment  of 
Micah's  prediction .  Nothing  but  a  few  ruins  now 
remain  to  testify  its  former  greatness  :  the  stones 
are  "poured  down  into  the  valley;"  and  the 
plough  claims  undisputed  dominion  over  the  en- 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  167 

tire  site,  except  the  small  spot  on  the  eastern 
slope  occupied  by  the  miserable  village  which  still 
retains  the  name  of  Sebaste. — Olin — Maundrell. 
Jericho,  which  in  the  time  of  Christ  was  se- 
cond only  to  Jerusalem,  is  so  utterly  destroyed 
that  the  precise  spot  where  it  stood  is  now  mat- 
ter of  speculation.  The  village  of  Rihah,  long 
but  erroneously  supposed  to  occupy  its  site,  is 
spoken  of  by  Dr.  Olin  and  others  as  one  of 
the  meanest  in  Palestine.  Bethel,  now  called 
Beitin  has  been  deserted  for  ages.  "  Its  ruins," 
says  Dr.  Robinson"  cover  a  space  of  three  or  four 
acres.  They  consist  of  very  many  foundations 
and  half-standing  walls  of  houses  and  other  build- 
ings. A  few  Arabs  had  pitched  their  tents  here 
for  the  summer,  to  watch  their  flocks  and  fields 
of  grain ;  and  they  were  the  only  inhabitants." 
From  the  same  authority  we  learn  that  Seilun,  the 
ancient  Shiloh,  is  a  desolation  covered  with  ru- 
ins of  comparatively  modern  date,  among  which 
are  many  large  stones  and  fragments  of  columns, 
shewing  it  to  have  been  an  ancient  site.  Of 
Bethshan  "the  only  remains  are  large  heaps  of 
black  hewn  stones,  many  foundations  of  houses, 
and  the  fragments  of  a  few  columns ;  the  present 
village,  called  Bysan,  contains  about  seventy 
or  eighty  houses,  and  the  inhabitants  are  in  a 
miserable  condition  from  being  exposed  to  the 


168  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

depredations  of  the  Bedouins." — Burckhardt. 
Lydda,  now  called  Ludd,  described  by  Jose- 
phus  as  being  not  inferior  in  size  to  a  city,  has, 
says  Volney,  "  the  appearance  of  a  place  lately 
ravaged  by  fire  and  sword.  From  the  huts  of  the 
inhabitants  to  the  palace  of  the  Aga  is  one  vast 
heap  of  rubbish  and  ruins."  Arimathea  has  so 
utterly  passed  away  that  its  site  is  now  unknown ; 
and  so  also  of  many  other  once  flourishing  cities. 

Ceserea,  the  once  splendid  city  of  Herod, 
exhibits  an  awful  contrast  to  its  former  magni- 
ficence, by  the  present  desolate  appearance 
of  its  ruins.  Not  a  single  inhabitant  remains  ; 
jackals  and  beasts  of  prey,  with  a  few  birds  and 
lizards,  are  the  only  living  possessors  of  this 
once  crowded  city. — Clarke — Hardy. 

Dr.  Robinson,  travelling  in  the  *'  hill-country" 
of  Judea,  says,  "  Many  of  the  hills  were  marked 
with  ruins,  showing  that  this  tract  of  country 
was  once  thickly  inhabited : "  and  again,  "  The 
country  is  full  of  sites  of  ruins,"  &c. 

Josephus  says  of  Galilee, — "The  country  is 
rich  and  fruitful,  and  is  all  cultivated.  Moreover 
the  cities  lie  here  very  thick ;  and  the  very  many 
villages  that  are  here,  are  everywhere  so  full  of 
people,  by  the  richness  of  the  soil,  that  the  very 
least  of  them  contains  above  fifteen  thousand  in- 
habitants."   What  a  contrast  does  this  descrip- 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  169 

tion  present  to  the  present  condition  of  this  ter- 
ritory. There  is  not  now  in  all  Galilee  a  single 
city  containing  more  than  six  thousand  inha- 
bitants ;  and  the  numerous  cities  which  then 
studded  the  shores  of  its  beautiful  lake,  have, 
with  the  single  exception  of  Tiberias,  long 
been  abandoned  to  utter  desolation.  "  When," 
observes  Mr.  Addison,  "  we  survey  the  silence 
and  solitude  of  these  shores,  and  cast  our  eyes 
over  the  expanse  of  water,  whose  blue  surface 
is  checkered  by  no  boat  or  sail,  we  are  led  to 
draw  a  vivid  and  melancholy  comparison  be- 
tween the  past  and  present  state  of  this  now 
solitary  region.  Along  this  wide-extended  line 
of  coast,  now  so  silent  and  deserted,  once  stood 
the  flourishing  and  populous  cities  of  Mag- 
DALA,  Bethsaida,  Chorazin,  Capernaum,  Sic. 
Tn  the  ruined  harbours,  and  in  the  lone  and 
solitary  bays  which  extend  around  the  deserted 
sites  of  these  once  flourishing  cities,  bustling 
fleets  of  boats  and  vessels,  whether  for  peace 
or  war,  were  fitted  out.  Now  no  boat  is  to  be 
seen  upon  its  waters,  and  no  trace  of  man  upon 
its  shore,  except  where  a  few  flat-roofed  houses, 
a  few  palm  trees,  two  solitary  minarets,  and 
the  dome  of  a  little  mosque,  close  to  the  water's 
edge,  marked  the  little  town  of  Tabareah,  the 
humble  representative  of  the  ancient  Tiberias." 


170  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

In  the  country  beyond  Jordan  are  the  desolate 
remains  of  several  ancient  cities.  The  ruins  of 
Djerash,  supposed  from  its  situation  and  the  simi- 
larity of  the  name  to  be  the  ancient  Gerasa,  are 
of  the  most  magnificent  character,  and  prove  the 
former  magnitude  and  importance  of  that  city.* 

Of  the  many  populous  and  extensive  cities 
with  which,  in  the  days  of  its  prosperity,  the 
Holy  Land  was  so  thickly  settled,  there  are  now 
we  beleive,  only  four  that  contain  over  five  thou- 
sand inhabitants :  these  are  Jeruslem,  Hebron, 
Saphet,  and  Nablous,  (the  ancient  Shechem,) 
the  three  latter  of  which  are  computed  to  contain 
each  a  population  of  about  six  thousand  souls. 

"  When  we  survey  the  present  deplorable 
state  of  this  country,  the  poverty  of  the  villages, 
the  scantiness  of  the  population  ;  and  when  we 
cast  our  eyes  over  the  sites  of  the  ruined  cities, 
and  regard  the  crumbling  fabrics  of  past  times 
mouldering  to  pieces,  the  towering  column  and 
the  sculptured  stone  half  covered  by  the  burying 
sand,"t  what  a  mournful  contrast  do  we  witness 
to  the  time  when  the  land,  "  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey,"  was  the  "  glory  of  all  lands ;" 
when  it  was  also  "full  of  silver  and  gold,  and 
there  was  no  end  of  its  treasures,"  and  Jerusa- 
*  Burckhardt.         t  Addison. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  171 

lem,  its  metropolis,  was  "  the  joy  of  the  whole 
earth!"  What  a  wonderful  attestation  does  it 
furnish  of  the  truth  of  Scripture  prophecy! 
"  The  land  is  a  witness  as  well  as  the  people. 
The  Israelite  in  our  streets,  whose  appearance 
was  delineated  with  such  graphic  precision  by 
the  legislator  prophet  more  than  thirty-three 
centuries  ago,  is  not  a  surer  evidence  of  the 
inspiration  of  the  sacred  volume,"  than  the 
general  desolation,  and  almost  depopulation, 
of  the  land  in  which  they  formerly  dwelt. 

Indeed,  so  striking  is  the  general  aspect  of 
poverty,  desolation,  and  barrenness  which 
this  region  now  exhibits,  that  some  writers 
have  adduced  it  as  an  objection  to  the  truth  of 
Scripture,  affirming  that  so  barren,  wretched, 
and  inconsiderable  a  country  could  never  have 
been  the  pleasant  and  fruitful  land  which  the 
sacred  writers  represent  it  to  have  been,  or 
have  sustained  the  immense  population  which 
are  said  to  have  inhabited  it.  But  these  ob- 
jectors are  either  ignorant  or  forgetful  that  the 
present  desolation  of  the  Holy  Land  was  dis- 
tinctly foretold  by  the  prophets  ;  and  therefore, 
so  far  from  being  an  objection  to  the  truth  of 
the  Bible,  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  a  strong  con- 
firmation of  it;  while  its  ancient  fertility  and 
populousness,  which  they  aflfect  to  deny,  is 


172  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

established  by  evidence,  independent  of  Scrip- 
ture,which  can  neither  be  gains ayed  nor  refuted. 
Of  the  province  of  Galilee,  Josephus  says,  in 
addition  to  what  we  have  already  quoted,  [page 
168,]  that  "its  fruitfulness  was  such  as  to 
invite  the  most  slothful  to  take  pains  in  its  cul- 
tivation." Of  the  provinces  of  Judea  and  Sa- 
maria, he  tells  us  that  "  they  are  each  of  them 
very  full  of  people,  which  is  the  greatest  sign 
of  excellence  and  abundance."*  Tacitus,  the 
Roman  historian,  who,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered, was  strongly  prejudiced  against  the 
Jews,  speaking  of  their  country,  says, — "  The 
soil  is  rich  and  fertile ;  besides  the  fruits 
known  in  Italy,  the  palm  and  balm  tree  flourish 
in  great  luxuriance."! 

"  Those,"  observes  Mr.  Wilde,  "  who  ex- 
claim against  the  infertility  and  barrenness  of 
this  country,  should  recollect  that  want  of  cul- 
tivation gives  it  much  of  the  sterile  and  barren 
appearance  which  it  now  presents  to  the  tra- 
veller. The  plough  used  in  that  country  is 
one  of  the  rudest  instruments  of  any  implement 
of  the  kind  I  have  seen.  It  does  little  more 
than  scratch  the  soil,  making  a  furrow  scarcely 
three  inches  deep."  We  cannot  fairly  judge 
of  its  former  capabilities  by  its  present  con- 
*  Wars,  book  iii,  chap.  3.  f  Hist.,  book  vi,  sec.  6. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  173 

dition.  Successively  wasted  by  the  Romans, 
Saracens,  and  crusaders,  and  then  falling  under 
the  iron  yoke  of  Turkish  despotism,  and  ex- 
posed to  hordes  of  plundering  Arabs,  it  is  im- 
possible that  it  should  now  present  the  appear- 
ance of  fertility  and  abundance  which  it  an- 
ciently did.  Yet  even  under  these  unfavourable 
circumstances  it  still  exhibits  such  manifest 
tokens  of  its  former  productiveness  and  high 
state  of  cultivation,  as  to  enable  the  traveller 
to  "  discover  without  difficulty  that  this  fine 
country  was  not  surpassed  in  beauty  and  exu- 
berant production  by  any  country  of  Western 
Asia."*  "  The  fruits,"  remarks  Mr.  Joliffe, 
"  surpass  in  richness  any  thing  that  I  have  else- 
where met  with."  "  Were  good  government, 
good  faith,  and  good  manners  to  flourish  in  this 
land  for  half  a  century,  it  would  literally  be- 
come again  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey."t  "  Under  a  wise  and  beneficent  govern- 
ment," observes  Dr.  Clarke,  "the  produce  of 
the  Holy  Land  would  exceed  all  calculation. 
Its  perennial  harvest,^  the  salubrity  of  its  air, 
its  limpid  springs,  its  rivers,  lakes,  and  match- 
less plains,  its  hills  and  vales, — all  these, 
added  to  the  serenity  of  its  climate,  prove  this 

*  Pictorial  Bible.  f  Jowett. 

t  Levit.  XX vi,  5  ;  Amos  ix,  13. 


174  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

land  to  be  indeed  a  field  which  the  Lord  hath 
hlessedy  Speaking  of  a  portion  of  the  country 
then  under  the  sway  of  a  comparatively  mild 
governor,  he  says, — "  It  was  pleasing  to  ob- 
serve the  effects  of  better  government ; — the 
cultivation  was  everywhere  marvellous ; — ^the 
hills,  from  their  bases  to  their  summits,  were 
entirely  covered  with  gardens ;  all  of  these 
were  free  from  weeds,  and  in  the  highest 
state  of  agricultural  perfection. — A  sight  of  this 
territory  can  alone  convey  any  adequate  idea 
of  its  surprising  produce."*  Even  the  most 
barren  and  rugged  mountains  are  capable  of 
cultivation,  and  were  anciently  made  to  contri- 
bute greatly  toward  the  support  of  a  large 
population.  From  the  base  to  the  summit 
they  were  hewed  into  terraces,  which  were 
covered  with  soil.  Upon  these  they  "planted 
the  fig,  the  olive,  and  the  vine,  and  sowed 
corn,  and  all  kinds  of  pulse,  which,  favoured 
by  the  usual  spring  and  autumnal  rains,  by 
the  dew  which  never    fails,    by  the  warmth 

*  The  doctor  here  speaks  of  the  country  between  Na- 
blous  and  Jerusalem.  Its  short-lived  prosperity,  however, 
passed  away  with  the  government  of  the  pacha  under 
whom  it  arose ;  and  this  region  now  presents  the  same 
desolate  aspect  which  it  did  when  visited  by  Maundrell, 
whose  description  of  it  is  given  on  page  158. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  175 

of  the  sun,  and  the  mild  climate,  produced 
the  finest  fruit,  and  most  excellent  com."* 
Traces  of  this  kind  of  cultivation  are  still  to  be 
seen  in  the  mountainous  districts  of  the  Holy 
Land,  and  are  mentioned  by  almost  every  tra- 
veller.! 

By  no  writers  is  the  former  excellence  of 
this  country  more  positively  asserted  than  by 
Gibbon  and  Volney,  men  whose  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  infidelity  was  so  notorious  that  none 
will  suspect  them  of  being  influenced  in  their 
statements  by  any  prejudices  in  favour  of  divine 
revelation.  The  former  says, — "  Syria,  one 
of  the  countries  that  have  been  improved  by 
the  most  early  cultivation,  is  not  unworthy 
the  preference.  The  heat  of  the  climate  is 
tempered  by  the  vicinity  of  the  sea  and  moun- 
tains, by  the  plenty  of  wood  and  water ;  and 
the  produce  of  a  fertile  soil  affords  the  sub- 
sistence, and  encourages  the  propagation  of 
men  and  animals.  From  the  age  of  David  to 
that  of  Heraclius,  the  country  was  overspread 
with  ancient  and  flourishing  cities. "|  Volney, 
after  estimating  the  number  of  inhabitants  in 
Syria,  observes, — "  So  feeble  a  population,  in 

*  D'Arvieux. 

t  Maundrell,  Shaw,  Volney,  Clarke,  Hardy,  Jowett,  dec 

X  Decline  and  Fall,  chap.  61. 


176  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

SO  excellent  a  country,  may  well  excite  our 
astonishment ;  but  this  will  be  still  increased 
if  we  compare  the  present  number  of  inhabit- 
ants with  that  of  ancient  times.  We  are  in- 
formed by  the  philosophical  geographer,  Strabo, 
that  the  territories  of  Jamnia  and  Joppa  in 
Palestine,  alone,  were  formerly  so  populous, 
as  to  be  able  to  bring  forty  thousand  armed 
men  into  the  field.  At  present  they  could 
scarcely  furnish  three  thousand.  From  the 
accounts  we  have  of  Judea  in  the  time  of  Titus, 
and  which  are  to  be  esteemed  tolerably  ac- 
curate, that  country  must  have  contained  four 
millions  of  inhabitants ;  but  at  present  there  are 
not,  perhaps,  above  three  hundred  thousand.*  If 
we  go  still  further  back  into  antiquity,  we  shall 
find  the  same  populousness  among  the  Philis- 
tines, the  Phoenicians,  and  in  the  kingdoms 
of  Samaria  and  Damascus."  After  stating 
that  some  writers  have  called  in  question  these 
facts,  he  proceeds  to  show  the  fallacy  of  their 
objections  ;  and  then  he  adds, — "  There  is 
nothing  in  nature  or  experience  to  contradict 
the  great  population  of  high  antiquity :  without 

*  The  word  "Judea,"  as  used  by  Volney  in  the  above 
statement,  must  be  understood  as  including  the  whole  of 
Palestine,  and  not  merely  the  Roman  province  of  Judea, 
which  comprised  only  the  southern  section  of  the  country. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  177 

appealing  to  the  positive  testimony  of  history, 
there  are  innumerable  monuments  which  de- 
pose in  favour  of  the  fact.  Such  are  the  pro- 
digious quantities  of  ruins  dispersed  over  the 
plains,  and  even  in  the  mountains,  at  this  day 
deserted.  On  the  most  remote  parts  of  C  arm  el 
are  found  wild  vines  and  olive  trees,  which 
must  have  been  conveyed  thither  by  the 
hand  of  man  ;  and  in  Lebanon,  the  rocks  now 
abandoned  to  fir  trees  and  brambles,  present 
us  in  a  thousand  places  with  terraces,  which 
prove  they  were  anciently  better  cultivated, 
and  consequently  much  more  populous  than  in 
our  days."  Thus  the  Scripture  accounts  of  the 
ancient  fertility  and  populousness  of  the  Holy 
Land  are  fully  confirmed,  both  by  the  testimony 
of  history,  and  the  present  indications  of  the 
country,  "  even  our  enemies  themselves  being 
judges." 

It  was  predicted  that  the  desolation  of  the 
country  would  be  such  as  to  excite  the  asto- 
nishment of  those  who  should  witness  it. 
"  The  generation  to  come  of  your  children, 
and  the  stranger  that  shall  come  from  a  far 
land,  shall  say,  when  they  see  the  plagues  of 
that  land.  Wherefore  hath  the  Lord  done  thus 
unto  this  land  1  What  meaneth  the  heat  of  this 
12 


178  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

great  anger  /"'  More  than  three  thousand  years 
after  these  words  were  spoken,  Volney,  a  dis- 
tinguished traveller,  but  a  professed  infidel, 
and  a  scoffer  at  the  Scriptures,  visits  this  smit- 
ten country.  He  is  a  stranger  from  a  far  land. 
Deeply  impressed  with  the  melancholy  aspect 
of  every  thing  around  him,  he  exclaims, — 
**  The  history  of  past  times  strongly  presented 
itself  to  my  thoughts. — I  enumerated  the  king- 
doms of  Damascus  and  Idumea ;  of  Jerusalem 
and  Samaria ;  and  the  warlike  states  of  the 
Philistines ;  and  the  commercial  republics  of 
Phoenicia.  This  Syria,  said  I  to  myself,  then 
contained  a  hundred  flourishing  cities,  and 
abounded  with  towns,  villages,  and  hamlets. 
Everywhere  one  might  have  seen  cultivated 
fields,  frequented  roads,  and  crowded  habita- 
tions. Ah  !  what  are  become  of  those  ages  of 
abimdance  and  of  life  ?  What  are  become 
of  so  many  productions  of  the  hand  of  man  ? — 
Alas  !  I  have  traversed  this  desolate  country,  I 
have  visited  the  places  that  were  the  theatre  of 
so  much  splendour,  and  I  have  beheld  nothing 
but  solitude  and  desertion.  I  looked  for  those  an- 
cient people  and  their  works,  and  all  I  could  find 
was  a  faint  trace,  like  to  what  the  foot  of  a 
traveller  leaves  on  the  sand.  The  temples  are 
thrown   down,   the    palaces    demolished,   the 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  179 

ports  filled  up,  the  towns  destroyed;  and  the 
earth,  stripped  of  its  inhabitants,  seems  a  dreary 
burying  place. — Great  God !  from  whence  pro^ 
ceed  such  melancholy  revolutions?  For  what 
cause  is  the  fortune  of  these  countries  so  strik- 
ingly changed  ?  Why  is  not  that  ancient  popu' 
lation  reproduced  and  perpetuated?^^*  This 
remarkable  verification  of  a  Scripture  prophecy 
occurs  in  a  work  written  with  the  avowed  de- 
sign of  overthrowing  the  religion  of  the  Bible. 
How  truly  is  it  said,  "  He  maketh  the  wrath 
of  man  to  praise  Him  !" 

Thus  have  the  threatened  judgments  of  the 
Lord  been  visited  upon  the  inheritance  of 
Israel.  The  land  is  brought  into  desola- 
tion, — the  highways  are  desolate, — the  cities  are 
waste. 

"  To  hill  and  mountain  the  devouring  curse 
Hath  clung  ;  and  rivers  down  unpeopled  vales 
Like  mournful  pilgrims  glide." 

And  this  state  of  desolation,  we  are  assured, 
is  to  continue  so  long  as  the  Jews  "  are  in 
their  enemies'  land,"  Levit.  xxvi,  34.  "  Thus 
there  may  almost  be  said  to  be  a  kind  of  sym- 
pathetic feeling  between  the  bereaved  country 

*  Volney's  Ruins,  chap.  2. 


180  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

and  its  banished  people;"  the  land,  lying  deso- 
late, mourns  the  absence  of  her  children,  awaits 
their  return,  and  refuses  to  be  comforted  till 
they  are  restored  to  her.  And  they  shall  be 
restored.  The  "  sure  word  of  prophecy"  hath 
declared  it.  "  The  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath 
spoken  it."  Even  the  very  terms  of  the  threat- 
ening,— "  the  land  shall  enjoy  her  sabbaths, 
while  she  lieth  desolate  without  them," — indi- 
cate that  a  period  shall  arrive  which  will  termi- 
nate at  once  the  dispersion  of  the  people,  and  the 
desolation  of  the  country.  The  same  prophecy 
also  expressly  declares  that  if  the  people  shall 
confess  their  iniquity,  and  humble  their  hearts, 
then  the  Lord  will  "remember  his  covenant 
with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,"  and  will 
also  "  remember  the  land,"  Gen.  xvii,  7,  8,  19  ; 
xxviii,  14;  Levit.  xxvi,  40-45. 

The  writings  of  the  later  prophets  abound 
with  predictions  of  the  restoration  of  the  Jews 
to  their  own  land.  It  is  true  that  these  predic- 
tions were  delivered  previous  to  their  return  from 
the  Babylonish  captivity,  and  that  the  greater 
part  of  them  were  spoken  with  especial  refer- 
ence to  that  event ;  but  still  there  are  many 
which  were  not,  and  could  not  have  been,  ful- 
filled at  that  time,  and  must,  therefore,  refer  to 
a  restoration  which  is  yet  to  come.     Such  is 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  181 

the  promise  contained  in  Isaiah  Ixi,  4,  where 
it  is  said, — 

"  They  shall  build  the  old  wastes, 

They  shall  raise  up  the  former  desolations, 

And  shall  repair  the  waste  cities, 

The  desolation  of  many  generations." 

These  words  cannot  refer  to  the  return  of 
the  Jews  from  Babylon,  for  they  were  not  there 
"  many  generations  :"  indeed,  some  of  the  very 
individuals  who  were  carried  there  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  captivity  lived  to  return  to 
Jerusalem,  and  witness  the  founding  of  the 
second  temple.     Ezra  iii,  12. 

The  return  of  the  Jews  from  Babylon  was 
but  a  partial  one  ;  the  great  body  of  the  people 
did  not  return  to  their  own  land.  But  Ezekiel 
(xxxix,  25-30)  foretels  a  restoration  so  com- 
plete that  there  shall  be  "none  of  them  left 
among  the  heathen."  This  prophecy,  there- 
fore, yet  remains  to  be  fulfilled. 

There  are  other  prophecies  in  which  the 
return  of  the  Jews  to  their  own  land  is  con- 
nected with  their  subjection  to  the  kingdom 
of  the  Messiah.  Thus  in  Ezekiel  xxxiv, 
11-13,23,  it  is  said, — 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ; 

Behold,  as  a  shepherd  searcheth  out  his  flock 

In  the  day  that  he  is  among  his  sheep  that  are  scat- 
tered; 


182  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

So  will  I  seek  out  my  sheep, 

A.nd  will  deliver  them  from  all   places  whither  they 

have  been  scattered. 
And  I  will  brmg  them  out  from  the  people, 
And  gather  them  from  the  countries, 
And  will  bring  them  to  their  own  land, 
And  feed  them  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel. 
And  I  will  set  up  one  Shepherd  over  them, 
And  he  shall  feed  them,  '^^lliig 

Even  my  servant  David ;  '    " 

He  shall  feed  them,  and  he  shall  be  their  Shepherd." 

A  prediction  of  similar  import  is  found  in 
Ezekiel  xxxvii,  21,  24,  25. 

"  I  will  take  the  children  of  Israel  from  among  the  hea- 
then whither  they  be  gone. 

And  will  gather  them  on  every  side. 

And  bring  them  into  their  own  land. 

And  David  my  servant  shall  be  King  over  them, 

And  they  shall  have  one  Shepherd ; 

And  they  shall  dwell  in  the  land  that  I  have  given  to 
Jacob  my  servant, 

Wherein  your  fathers  have  dwelt. 

And  they  shall  dwell  therein  for  ever ; 

And  my  servant  David  shall  be  their  Prince  for  ever." 

These  predictions,  as  Dr.  A.  Clarke*  ob- 
serves, can  refer  only  to  the  times  of  the 
Messiah,  who  is  here  intended  by  the  terms 
Shepherd,  and  David,  which  are  also  applied 

*  See  his  notes  on  these  passages,  and  Dn  the  parallel 
texts. 


SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY.  183 

to  him  in  other  passages,  both  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  *  So,  also,  they  are  under 
stood  by  the  Jewish  rabbins,  who,  in  these 
prophecies,  read,  instead  of  "  David,"  Messiah 
the  son  of  David.  David,  king  of  Israel,  had 
at  this  time  been  dead  upward  of  four  hun- 
dred years,  and  there  has  never  since  been  a 
ruler  of  any  kind,  either  in  the  Jewish  church 
or  state,  of  that  name.  Moreover,  the  Jews 
have  been  no  nation  since  the  return  from 
Babylon ;  they  are  no  nation  now  ;  and  it  is 
only  in  the  latter  days  that  they  can  expect  to 
be  a  nation,  and  that  must  be  a  Christian  nation. 
We  are  obliged,  therefore,  from  the  evidence 
of  these  prophecies, — from  the  evidence  of 
the  above  facts, — from  the  evidence  of  the 
rabbins  themselves, — and  from  the  evidence 
of  the  New  Testament,  to  consider  these  texts 
as  applying  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  promised 
Messiah,  who  has  been  a  light  to  lighten  the 
Gentiles,  and  will  yet  be  the  glory  of  his  people 
Israel. 

That  they  shall  again  be  restored  to  the 
country  of  their  ancestors,  is  the  universal 
expectation  of  the  Jews   themselves.     They 

*  Isa.  Iv,  3,  4 ;  Jer.  xxx,  3-1 1 ;  Hosea  iii,  4,  5  ;  Matt, 
xii,  23;  xxi,  9  ;  John  x,  14-16  ;  Heb.  xiii,  20. 


184  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

never    forget    the    "pleasant    land,"    but   re 
tain,  under  erery  variety  of  outward  circum- 
stances, the  same  imperishable  attachment  to 
their  ancient  heritage.     The  burden  of  their 
song  is  unchangeable  : — 

"  If  I  forget  thee,  0  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand  forget 
her  cunning. 
If  I  do  not  remember  thee,  let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the 

roof  of  my  mouth  ; 
If  I  prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  my  chief  joy." 

Psalm  cxxxvii,  5. 

"  No  matter  what  the  station  or  rank  ;  no  mat- 
ter what,  or  how  distant,  the  country  where 
the  Jew  resides,  he  still  lives  upon  the  hope 
that  he  will  some  time  journey  Zionward."* 
But  ere  this  takes  place,  they  must  abandon 
their  fallacious  hopes  of  a  future  Messiah,  and 
acknowledge  as  their  Saviour  and  Redeemer 
him  whom  their  fathers  rejected  and  crucified. 
Then  may  they  expect  the  fulfilment  of  their 
dearest  wishes — the  realization  of  their  long- 
cherished  hopes.  "  An  exile  of  eighteen  cen- 
turies has  not  extinguished  the  heaven-char- 
tered title  of  the  *  seed  of  Abraham'  to  the  final 
and  everlasting  possession  of  the  Promised 
Land."  Gen.  xvii,  7, 8.    The  word  of  the  Lord 

*  WUde. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  185 

concerning  Zion,  which  he  hath  neither  forgot- 
ten nor  forsaken,  is, — 

"Behold  I  have   graven  thee  tipon   the   palms   of  my 
hands ; 
Thy  walls  are  continually  before  me. 
Thy  children  shall  make  haste  ; 

Thy  destroyers  and  they  that  made  thee  waste  shall  go 
forth  of  thee."  Isa.  xlix,  14-23. 

God  will  "  remember  the  land,"  and  gather 
together  unto  it  his  ancient  people.  From  the 
thousand  lands  in  which  they  are  scattered 
shall  the  weary-footed  wanderers  direct  their 
steps  toward  the  home  of  their  fathers ;  "  and 
the  ransomed  of  the  Lord  sflall  return,  and  come 
to  Zion  with  songs  and  everlasting  joy  upon 
their  heads."  They  shall  build  up  the  waste 
places  of  Jerusalem,  and  inhabit  again  the 
mountains  of  Israel.  "  The  wilderness  and 
the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for  them ;  and 
the  desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the 
rose.  It  shall  blossom  abundantly,  and  rejoice 
even  with  joy  and  singing :  the  glory  of  Leba- 
non shall  be  given  unto  it,  the  excellency  of 
Carmel  and  of  Sharon. — Violence  shall  no 
more  be  heard  in  their  land,  wasting  nor  de- 
struction within  their  borders ;  but  they  shall 
call  their  walls  Salvation,  and  their  gates 
Praise.     The  people  also   shall  be  all  right- 


186 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 


eous ;    and    they    shall   inherit   the    land    for 
ever. — I  the   Lord  will   hasten  it  in  his 

TIME." 


■'And  slie,  being  desolate,  shall  sit  upon  the  ground."— Tsa.  iii,26. 

Who  is  this  tha^  mournful  sits 

Beneath  the  palm  tree's  shade  1 
To  the  conqueror  stern  submits, 

In  trophied  pride  array'd  1 
None  sustains  the  head  depress'd, 

None  the  word  of  comfort  speaks ! 
Lo,  her  sorrows  soil  her  breast, 

Her  tears  are  on  her  cheeks  ! 


Ah  !  it  is  Zion  in  captivity 
That  thus  sits  desolate  ! 
Her  sad  estate 
A  minish'd  band  of  trembling  elders  see. 
Silent  beneath  her  ruin'd  towers  they  stand  ; 
Or,  lowly  on  the  ground. 
In  floods  of  sorrow  drown'd, 
Bewail  Jehovah's  hand, 
In  judgment  resting  still  on  their  once  favour'd  land. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  187 

Who  but  will  join  in  deep  lament, 

With  thy  sad  sons  in  banishment  1 

Who  will  not  mingle  tears  with  thine, 

Defiled,  deserted  Palestine  1 
While  o'er  the  scene  of  thy  solemnities 

They  turn  their  wond'ring  eyes, 

And  see  the  Gentile  there. 

Where  once  thy  house  of  prayer  » 

Received  the  radiance  of  the  orient  skies. 

Ye  who  love  the  sacred  land 

To  ancient  Israel  given. 
Ye  who  seek  to  understand 

The  mysteries  of  heaven, 
Listen  to  the  raptured  tones 
IP       Of  Zion's  loftiest  lyre, 

Form,  with  Abraham's  favour'd  sons. 

One  sweet  harmonious  choir. 
From  each  respondent  comes  the  strain. 

That  He  who  in  disdain 
Disown'd  Jerusalem, 

Will  yet  recall  her  to  his  arms  again. 

Her  sons  shall  from  the  dust  arise, 

Hear  the  heralds  of  the  skies, 

Hail  with  joy  Messiah's  name,  ^ 

Him  the  Prince  of  life  proclaim, 

Loud,  though  late,  hosannas  raise, 

Christ,  the  son  of  David,  praise. 

Then  shall  the  Lord  his  ancient  word  fulfil ; 

To  David's  head  the  regal  crown  restore  ; 
Again  his  temple  build  on  Zion's  hill ; 

Replant  his  vine,  to  root  it  out  no  more. 


188  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

Israel's  mountains  then  shall  bear 

The  withering  curse  no  more  ; 
Truth  and  justice  ruling  there 

The  blessing  shall  restore. 

The  sacred  land,  now  desolate, 
Shall  then  regain  its  lost  estate  ; 
Then  shall  the  towers  of  Zion  stand  secure  ; 
Her  bright  foundations  sure, 
Reflecting  heaven's  own  beams,  shall  ev^more  endure. 

Haste,  then,  ye  days  of  glory,  when  the  light 

Now  beaming  from  the  star  of  prophecy 
Shall  fade,  absorb'd  in  perfect  vision  bright : 
When  Zion's  watchmen,  seeing  eye  to  eye. 
From  all  her  walls  shall  shout  salvation  nigh  : 
When  with  the  herald's  voice 
Re-echoing  wilds  rejoice, 
And  loud  winds  waft  it  to  the  listening  sky. 

Mrs.  Bulmer. 


-^ 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  189 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PROPHECIES  RESPECTING  AMMON  AND  MOAB. 

The  Ammonites  and  Moabites  descended  from  Lot — Were  noted 
for  their  hostility  to  the  Jews— Prophecies  respecting  the  Ammon- 
ites— The  Ammonites  as  a  nation  are  perished — Contrast  be- 
tween the  fate  of  the  Ammonites  and  that  of  the  Jews — The 
country  of  Ammon  until  recently  but  little  known — Desolation 
of  Kabbah  foretold— Fulfilment  of  this  prediction — Testimony  of 
Seetzen,  Burckhardt,  Buckingham,  and  Lord  Lindsay — General 
desolation  of  the  country — Prophecies  respecting  Moab — The 
Moabites  carried  captive  by  Nebuchadnezzar— Are  destroyed  from 
being  a  people — Their  country  desolate  and  almost  uninhabited — 
Their  ancient  cities  ruined  and  deserted — Many  of  these  ruined 
sites  still  retain  their  ancient  names — Conclusion. 

"  I  WILL  make  of  thee,"  said  Jehovah  to  Abra- 
ham, "  a  great  nation  ;  and  I  will  bless  him  that 
blesseth  thee,  and  I  will  curse  him  that  curseth 
thee,"  Gen.  xii,  2,  3.  The  latter  part  of  this 
prediction  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  fate 
of  the  various  nations  which  at  different  times 
have  risen  up  againt  the  Jews  "  to  do  them 
hurt." 

Among  these  we  find  the  Ammonites  and 
Moabites,  who  were  the  descendants  of  Ben- 
ammi  and  Moab,  the  two  sons  of  Lot.  Gen.  xix, 
37,  38.  Both  of  these  nations  were  gross  idola- 
ters, and  were  distinguished  for  their  enmity 
to  the  Hebrews,  embracing  every  opportunity 


190  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

to  harass  and  oppress  them.  They  refused 
them  a  passage  through  their  country  when  on 
their  journey  from  Egypt  to  Canaan,  and  like- 
wise hired  Balaam  to  curse  them,  but  God 
turned  his  curse  into  a  blessing.  Deut.  xxiii, 
3-5.  In  the  time  of  the  judges  they  invaded 
and  subdued  the  land  of  Israel,  and  oppressed 
the  people  for  eighteen  years.  Judges  iii,  12-14. 
In  the  reign  of  David,  however,  they  were  in 
their  turn  conquered  by  the  Israelites,  and  re- 
mained in  a  state  of  subjection,  paying  tribute 
to  the  kings  of  Israel,  until  after  the  death  of 
Ahab,  when  they  revolted,  (2  Kings  iii,  4, 5,)  and 
though  afterward  several  times  defeated,  they 
do  not  appear  to  have  been  ever  again  entirely 
subdued.  They  acted  as  the  auxiliaries  of  Ne- 
buchadnezzar when  he  invaded  Judea  in  the 
reign  of  Jehoiakim.  They  reviled  and  insulted 
the  Jews  when  Judea  was  laid  waste,  and  pro- 
fanely exulted  over  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem, and  the  desecration  of  the  temple.  For 
this,  as  well  as  for  their  general  wickedness, 
the  judgments  of  the  Lord  were  pronounced 
against  them.  Isa.  xvi,  6-14 ;  Jer.  xlviii ;  xlix, 
1,2;  Ezek.  XXV,  1-10  ;  Amos  i,  13-15;  Zeph. 
ii,  7-10. 

The  prophecies  respecting  these  nations  are 
of  a  kindred  character,  and  have  been  most 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  191 

literally  fulfilled.     We  will  first  notice  those 
which  refer  to  the  land  and  people  of 

AMMON. 
"  The  word  of  the  Lord,"  saith  Ezekiel, 
"  came  unto  me,  saying,  Son  of  man,  set  thy 
face  against  the  Ammonites,  and  prophesy 
against  them;  and  say  unto  the  Ammonites, 
Hear  ye  the  word  of  the  Lord  God  ;  thus  saith 
the  Lord  God, — 

*  Because  thou  saidst,  Aha,  against  my  sanctuary,  when 

it  was  profaned ; 
And  against  the  land  of  Israel,  when  it  was  desolate  ; 
And  against  the  house  of  Judah,  when  they  went  into 

captivity  ; 
Behold,  therefore,  I  will  deliver  thee  to  the  men  of  the 

east  for  a  possession. 
And  they  shall  set  their  palaces  in  thee, 
And  make  their  dwellings  in  thee  : 
They  shall  eat  thy  fruit,  and  they  shall  drink  thy  milk. 

And  I  will  make  Rabbah  a  stable  for  camels, 
And  the  Ammonites*  a  couching-place  for  flocks : 

*  By  the  word  "  Ammonites,"  we  must  of  course  under- 
stand the  chief  city  or  cities  of  the  Ammonites,  for  it  is 
not  expressive  of  desolation  that  flocks  should  pasture  any- 
where in  the  open  country ;  but  it  is  eminently  so,  that 
they  should  be  stabled  among  the  ruins,  and  fed  upon  the 
sites  of  cities  once  populous  and  flourishing.  That  this  is 
the  sense  is  shown  by  the  context,  as  well  as  by  other 
passages. — Pictorial  Bible. 


192  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

And  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 
Behold,  I  will  stretch  out  mine  hand  upon  thee, 
And  will  deliver  thee  for  a  spoil  to  the  heathen ; 
And  I  will  cut  thee  off  from  the  people, 
And  I  will  cause  thee  to  perish  out  of  the  countries ; 
I  will  destroy  thee  ;  and  thou  shalt  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord.'*'  Ezek.  xxv,  1-7. 

From  these  predictions,  and  from  some  others 
of  a  similar  import,  (Zeph.  ii,  7-10,)  it  will  be 
seen,  that  the  Ammonites  were  to  perish  as  a 
nation — that  Rabbah,  their  capital,  was  to  be 
utterly  ruined — and  their  country  to  become 
desolate. 

/  mil  cut  thee  off  from  the  people — /  mil  cause 
thee  to  perish  out  of  the  countries — /  will  destroy 
thee. — The  Ammonites  suffered  in  common  with 
the  neighbouring  nations,  when  Nebuchadnez- 
zar invaded  Judea  and  the  adjacent  countries, 
and  carried  the  inhabitants  into  captivity,  but, 
as  was  foretold  by  Jeremiah,  (xlix,  6,)  they 
were,  on  the  subversion  of  the  Babylonish  em- 
pire, permitted  to  return  to  their  own  land. 
After  this  we  find  them  exposed  to  the  various 
revolutions  with  which  the  people  of  Syria  and 
Palestine  were  visited,  being  sometimes  sub- 
ject to  the  kings  of  Egypt,  and  sometimes  to 
those  of  Syria.  During  the  persecutions  of  the 
Jews  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the  Ammonites 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  193 

exercised  great  cruelties  against  such  of  them 
as  lived  in  their  parts  :  in  consequence  of  this 
they  were  attacked  by  Judas  Maccabeus,  who 
defeated  them  in  several  battles,  and  took  the 
city  of  Jazer,  with  the  adjoining  towns.*  This 
was  their  last  conflict  with  the  descendants  of 
Israel ;  their  power  was  broken,  and  from  this 
period  they  rapidly  declined,  until  at  length,  in 
accordance  with  the  prophecy,  they  became 
extinct  as  a  nation.  They  were  gradually 
blended  with  the  Arabs,  and  Origen,  who  lived 
in  the  fourth  century,  assures  us  that  in  his 
days  they  were  only  known  under  this  general 
name. 

There  is  in  this  particular  a  striking  diflfer- 
ence  between  the  fate  of  the  Ammonites  and 
that  of  the  Jews.  The  latter,  though  they  have 
for  many  centuries  been  dispersed  among  all 
nations,  have  survived  to  this  day  as  a  distinct 
people ;  and  their  renowned  land  has  never, 
since  they  left  it,  ceased  to  be  known  and  regard- 
ed with  interest,  because  they  once  occupied  it. 
But  for  ages  the  existence  of  the  Ammonites 
as  a  nation,  or  even  as  a  tribe,  has  been  extinct ; 
none  are  now  called  by  their  name,  nor  do  any 
claim  a  descent  from  them.     And  as  to  their 

*  1  Maccabees  v,  1-8  ;  Josephus,  Ant.,  book  xii,  chap. 
8,  sec.  1. 

13 


194  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

country,  it  has  only  been  within  the  last  few- 
years  that  it  has  been  noticed  by  European 
travellers,  or  that  any  information  concerning 
it  has  been  acquired.  Till  then  its  situation 
generally  was  collected  from  Scripture  intima- 
tions, which,  with  some  information  from  an- 
cient writers  concerning  its  towns,  formed  the 
amount  of  what  was  known  respecting  the  land 
of  Ammon.  And  even  now,  while  the  antiqua- 
rian traveller  knows  that  he  is  in  that  land,  re- 
cognises the  names  which  the  Bible  has  made 
familiar,  marks  the  position  and  character  of 
sites  and  ruins,  and,  whether  he  intends  it  or 
not,  collects  information  to  confirm  the  truth 
of  Scripture  prophecy, — the  few  inhabitants, 
while  they  preserve  the  names  which  the  Am- 
monites gave  to  their  towns,  have  no  traditions 
concerning  that  people,  nor  do  they  know 
whose  land  it  is  that  they  occupy.  So  utterly 
is  the  memory  of  the  Ammonites  perished,  that 
it  would  at  this  day  be  unknown  that  such  a 
people  ever  existed,  or  that  the  country  in 
question  was  ever  in  their  possession,  were  it 
not  that  the  sacred  book  preserves  the  record  - 
of  their  history  and  doom.*  They  are  "  cut 
off  from  the  people,"  and  are  "no  more  re- 
membered among  the  nations." 

*  See  Pictorial  Bible,  note  on  Ezek.  xxv  7-10. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  195 

I  will  make  Rabhah  a  stable  for  camels,  and  the 
Ammonites  a  couching-place  for  flocks.  Ammon 
shall  be  a  perpetual  desolation. — The  precise  and 
striking  manner  in  whicl^  the  prophecies  re- 
specting this  city  have  .*en  accomplished, 
gives  the  place  more  interest  than  it  could  his- 
torically claim,  although  even  that  is  not  incon- 
siderable. Rabbah,  called  also  Rabbath-am- 
mon,  was  a  city  of  great  antiquity,  having  been 
the  capital  of  the  Ammonites  before  the  He- 
brews entered  the  land  of  Canaan.  It  was 
taken  from  the  Ammonites  by  David,  (2  Sam. 
xii,  26-29,)  but  when  the  tribes  beyond  Jordan 
were  carried  into  captivity,  the  Ammonites  re- 
gained possession  of  the  cities  which  had  been 
taken  from  them. 

Although  Rabbah  appears  to  have  been  seve- 
ral times  wholly  or  partially  destroyed  in  war, 
by  the  kings  of  Babylon,  and  the  Greek  mo- 
narchs  of  Syria  and  Egypt,  yet  the  successive 
conquerors,  down  to  the  time  of  the  Romans, 
appear  to  have  rebuilt  and  improved  the  city, 
being  sensible  of  its  advantageous  situation,  so 
that  it  very  long  maintained  its  rank  as  the 
local  metropolis.  From  Ptolemy  Philadelphus, 
by  whom  it  was  restored  and  fortified,  it  re- 
ceived the  name  of  Philadelphia,  but  some  of 
the  ancient  writers  continued  to  call  it  by  its 


196  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

old  name.  The  character  of  some  of  its  ex- 
isting remains  shows  that  the  place  was  im- 
proved and  embellished  while  possessed  by  the 
Romans ;  but  after  their  time  it  seems  to  have 
lost  its  consequence,  although  the  date  of  its 
final  desolation  is  unknown.  In  the  time  of 
Jerome  it  still  subsisted  under  the  name  of  Phi- 
ladelphia. The  Orientals,  however,  preserve  old 
names  with  remarkable  tenacity,  and  the  ruin- 
ed city  of  the  Ammonites  is  still  called  Amman 
by  the  natives  of  the  country.  The  researches 
of  Seetzen,  Burckhardt,  Buckingham,  G.  Robin- 
son, and  Lord  Lindsay,  have  made  us  fully  ac- 
quainted with  this  site,  concerning  which  we 
had  previously  no  information.  The  principal 
ruins  lie  along  the  banks  of  a  small  river,  call- 
ed Moiet  Ammon,  [the  water  of  Ammon,]  and 
occupy  an  area  formed  by  the  openings  of  two 
valleys.  At  the  point  where  the  valleys  meet, 
and  commanding  the  entrance,  there  is  a  high 
hill,  on  the  summit  of  which  are  the  remains 
of  a  strong  and  extensive  fortress — almost  a 
town  in  itself — the  walls  of  which  are  formed 
of  huge  blocks  of  stone,  resting  one  upon  an- 
other, without  any  cement,  and  appear  to  be 
of  very  remote  antiquity  * 

*  This  was  probably  the  strong  hold  which  Joab  wished 
David  to  have  the  honour  of  taking,  after  he  had  himseif 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  197 

Although  this  town  has  been  destroyed  and 
deserted  for  many  ages,  there  are  still  some  re- 
markable ruins  which  attest  its  ancient  splen- 
dour. Among  these,  Seetzen  and  Burckhardt 
enumerate  a  square  building,  highly  ornamented, 
which  has  been,  perhaps,  a  mausoleum ;  the  ruins 
of  a  large  palace  ;  a  magnificent  amphitheatre 
of  immense  size,  and  well  preserved ;  a  temple 
with  a  great  number  of  columns  ;  the  ruins  of  a 
large  church;  the  remains  of  a  temple  with 
columns  set  in  a  circular  form,  and  which  are 
of  extraordinary  size  ;  the  remains  of  the  an- 
cient wall,  with  several  other  edifices.  Burck- 
hardt further  states,  that  a  large  portion  of  the 
site  is  "  covered  with  the  ruins  of  private  build- 
ings— but  nothing  of  them  remains,  except  the 
foundations  and  some  of  the  door  posts."  When 
Mr.  Buckingham  visited  Rabbath-ammon,  he 
halted  for  the  night  with  a  tribe  of  Arabs,-  who 
were  found  encamped  among  the  ruins,  in  a 
hollow  behind  the  top  of  the  threatre.  Next 
morning  he  makes  the  following  remark  in  his 
journal : — "  During  the  night  I  was  almost  en- 
tirely prevented  from  sleeping,  by  the  bleating 
of  the  flocks,  the  neighing  of  mares,  and  the 
barking  of  dogs."      He  also  describes,  among 

taken  the  lower  town,  which  he  calls  "  the  city  of  wa- 
ters."— Pictorial  Bible. 


198  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY* 

the  rtiins,  a  building  surrounding  "  an  open 
square  court,  with,  arched  recesses  on  each  side. 
The  recesses  in  the  northern  and  southern 
walls  were  originally  open  passages,  and  had 
arched  doorways  facing  each  other ;  but  the 
first  of  these  was  found  wholly  closed  up,  and 
the  last  was  partially  filled  up,  leaving  only  a 
narrow  passage,  just  sufficient  for  the  entrance 
of  one  man,  and  of  the  goats  which  the  Arab 
keepers  drive  in  here  occasionally  for  shelter 
during  the  night." 

The  latest  accofunt  of  Rabbah  is  that  given 
by  Lord  Lindsay,  who  thus  describes  it: — 
"  We  descended  a  precipitous  stony  slope  into 
the  valley  of  Ammon,  and  crossed  a  beautiful 
stream,*  bordered  at  intervals  by  strips  of  stunt- 
ed grass,  often  interrupted ;  no  oleanders  cheer- 
ed the  eye  with  their  rich  blossoms  ;  the  hills 
on  both  sides  were  rocky  and  bare,  and  pierced 
with  excavations  and  natural  caves.  Here,  at 
a  turning  in  the  narrow  valley,  commences  the 
antiquities  of  Amman.  It  was  situated  on  both 
sides  the  stream.  The  dreariness  of  its  present 
aspect  is  quite  indescribable — it  looks  like  the 

*  The  Moiet  Ammon.  It  has  its  source  in  a  pond  a 
few  hundred  paces  from  the  south-west  end  of  the  town, 
and  after  passing  under  ground  several  times,  empties  it' 
self  into  the  Jabbok. 


SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY.  199 

abode  of  death ;  the  valley  stinks  with  dead 
camels  ;  one  of  them  was  rotting  in  the  stream ; 
and  although  we  saw  none  among  the  ruins, 
they  were  absolutely  covered  in  every  direc- 
tion with  their  dung.  That  morning's  ride  would 
have  convinced  a  skeptic.  How  runs  the  pro- 
phecy ? — *  /  will  make  Rahhah  a  stable  for  camels  t 
and  the  Ammonites  a  couching-place  for  flocks ; 
and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  P  Nothing 
but  the  croaking  of  frogs,  and  screams  of  wild 
birds  broke  the  silence,  as  we  advanced  up 
this  valley  of  desolation. — It  was  a  bright, 
cheerful  morning,  but  still  th^  valley  is  a  very 
dreary  spot,  even  when  the  sun  shines  bright- 
est. Vultures  were  garbaging  on  a  camel,  as 
we  slowly  rode  back  through  the  glen,  and  re- 
ascended  the  akiha  by  which  we  entered  it. 
Amman  is  now  quite  deserted  except  by  the 
Bedouins,  who  water  their  flocks  at  its  little 
river.  We  met  sheep  and  goats  by  thousands, 
and  camels  by  hundreds,  coming  down  to  drink, 
all  in  beautiful  condition." 

When  the  prophets  of  Israel  pronounced 
the  doom  of  Rabbah,  more  than  a  thousand 
years  had  given  uninterrupted  experience  of 
its  stability ;  for  a  thousand  years  has  it  now 
lain  ^esolate ;  yet  still  it  is  not  so  utterly  ex- 
tinct but  that  the  Bedouin,  who  alone  frequents 


200  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

the  spot,  can  fold  his  cattle  in  its  temples 
and  palaces,  fulfilling  the  divine  prediction, 
that  the  proud  Rabbah  of  the  Ammonites  should 
be  "  a  stable  for  camels,  and  a  couching-place 
for  flocks." 

The  whole  country  also  partakes  of  the  same 
desolate  character.  Mr.  G.  Robinson  says, — 
"To  the  southward  of  the  river  Zerka  (the  Jab- 
bok  of  the  Scriptures)  commences  the  country 
anciently  inhabited  by  the  Ammonites  ;  a  coun- 
try in  those  days  as  remarkable  for  its  rich 
productions,  as  for  the  number  and  strength  of 
the  cities  which  covered  its  surface.  It  is  now 
one  vast  desert,  having  long  since  ceased  to  be 
inhabited  by  man  in  a  civilized  state."  It  con- 
sists of  a  series  of  extensive  plains,  having  a 
rich  soil,  but  exhibiting  no  traces  of  cultivation 
Mr.  Buckingham,  viewing  one  of  these  plains 
from  an  eminence,  observes, — "  Throughout  its 
whole  extent  were  seen  ruined  towns  in  every 
direction,  both  before,  behind,  and  on  each  side 
of  us ;  generally  seated  on  small  eminences,all  at 
a  short  distance  from  each  other ;  and  all  we 
had  yet  seen  bearing  evident  marks  of  former 
opulence  and  consideration.  My  guide,  who 
had  been  over  every  part  of  it,  assured  me  that 
the  whole  plain  was  covered  with  the  finest 
soil,  and  capable  of  being  the  most  productive 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  201 

corn  land  in  the  world.  It  is  true  that  for  the 
space  of  thirty  miles  there  did  not  appear  to 
me  a  single  interruption  of  hill,  rock,  or  wood, 
to  impede  immediate  tillage  ;  and  it  is  certain 
that  the  great  plain  of  Esdraelon,  so  justly- 
celebrated  for  its  extent  and  fertility,  is  inferior 
in  both  to  this  plain.  Like  Esdraelon,  it  ap- 
pears also  to  have  been  once  the  seat  of  an 
active  and  numerous  population."  "  While 
numerous  ruins  indicate  how  rich  and  populous 
the  country  once  was,  it  is  now  without  fixed 
inhabitants.  The  wandering  tribes  resort  to  it 
in  the  summer  months,  for  the  sake  of  the 
pasturage  which  it  offers  ;  but  when  they  have 
left,  the  ashes  and  dung  of  their  encampments 
are  the  only  signs  of  human  occupation  which 
the  country  affords.  Thus  truly  has  Ammon  be- 
come "  a  desolation,"  as  the  prophets  foretold."* 

We  now  pass  on  to  the  prophecies  respect- 
ing 

MOAB, 

which  are  more  numerous,  and  equally  explicit. 

"  Against  Moab,  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
Wo  unto  Nebo  !  for  it  is  spoiled ; 
Kiriathaim  is  confounded  and  taken ; 
Misgab  is  confounded  and  dismayed. 

♦  Pictorial  History  of  Palestine. 


I 


202  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

The  spoiler  shall  come  upon  every  city, 

And  no  city  shall  escape  ; 

The  valley  also  shall  perish, 

And  the  plain  shall  be  destroyed. 

Give  wings  unto  Moab, 

That  it  may  flee  and  get  away  : 

For  the  cities  thereof  shall  be  desolate, 

Without  any  to  dwell  therein. 

Moab  hath  been  at  ease  from  his  youth, 
And  he  hath  settled  on  his  lees ; 
And  he  hath  not  been  emptied  from  vessel  to  vessel, 
Neither  hath  he  gone  into  captivity. 
Therefore,  behold  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord, 
That  I  will  send  unto  him  wanderers  that  shall  cause 

him  to  wander. 
Thou  daughter  that  dost  inhabit  Dibon  : 
Come  down  from  thy  glory  and  sit  in  thirst. 
For  the  spoiler  of  Moab  shall  come  upon  thee. 
And  he  shall  destroy  thy  strong  holds. 

Moab  is  confounded  ;  for  it  is  broken  down ; 
Howl  and  cry ; 

Tell  ye  it  in  Arnon,  that  Moab  is  spoiled. 
And  judgment  is  come  upon  the  plain  country ; 
Upon  Holon,  and  upon  Jahazah,  and  upon  Mephaath, 
And  upon  Dibon,  and  upon  Nebo, 
And  upon  Kerioth,  and  upon  Bozrah, 
And  upon  all  the  cities  of  Moab,  far  or  near. 
And  joy  and  gladness  is  taken 
From  the  plentiful  field,  and  from  the  land  of  Moab. 
And  Moab  shall  be  destroyed  from  being  a  people. 
Because  he  hath  magnified  himself  against  the  Lord." 

Jer.  xlviii. 
"Moab  shall  be  a  perpetual  desolation."  Zeph.  ii,  9. 


SCRIPrrRE   PROPHECY.  203* 

These  predictions  began  to  be  accomplished 
when  Nebuchadnezzar,  five  years  after  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem,  invaded  Moab  and  car- 
ried away  its  inhabitants  ;  thus,  according  to 
the  prophecy,  causing  to  wander  from  their 
home,  the  people  who  had  never  before  "  gone 
into  captivity."  Although  they  were  probably 
permitted  to  return  to  their  own  land  when  Cyrus 
overtlirew  the  kingdom  of  Babylon,  yet  it  does 
not  appear  that  they  were  ever  again  an  inde- 
pendent nation.  They  were  successively  sub- 
ject to  the  Persians,  Syrians,  Egyptians,  and 
Romans ;  and  have  now,  like  their  brethren 
the  Ammonites,  long  since  been  destroyed 
from  being  a  people ;  their  very  name  was  lost, 
many  centuries  ago,  and  they  have  become 
mingled  with  the  Jews  and  Arabians. 

Respecting  the  land  and  cities  of  Moab,  the 
prophecies  are  remarkably  full  and  explicit,  but 
not  more  so  than  the  evidence  of  their  complete 
fulfilment,  which  the  present  state  of  that 
country  furnishes. 

Moab  shall  be  a  perpetual  desolation.  The 
valley  shall  perish,  and  the  plain  shall  be  de- 
stroyed.— The  land  of  Moab  lay  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Dead  Sea,  to  the  south,  and  partly 
to  the  north,  of  the  river  Amon.     The  surface 


204  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

of  the  country  is  more  diversified  with  hill  and 
dale  than  is  that  of  the  Ammonites,  further 
east.  The  valleys,  through  which  streams  flow 
at  all  times  of  the  year,  are  generally  beauti- 
fully wooded.  Although  the  land  now  lies  de- 
solate, and  the  sand  and  salt  of  the  desert 
and  the  Dead  Sea  encroach  upon  its  borders, 
there  is  not  wanting  abundant  evidence  of  its 
ancient  fertility  and  numerous  population.  The 
land  thus  desert  is  eminently  fertile  in  its  natu- 
ral character,  and  continues  to  afford  rich  re- 
turns in  the  few  spots  which  are  under  cultiva- 
tion. The  extraordinary  number  of  ruined 
towns,  often  in  close  proximity  to  each  other, 
testify  that  the  ancient  populousness  of  this  re- 
gion was  in  full  accordance  with  the  rich  cha- 
racter of  the  soil.  The  country  may  now  be 
said  to  be  abandoned,  except  by  a  few  wander- 
ing and  hostile  Arab  tribes,  who  pasture  theii 
flocks  on  the  wild  herbage  of  its  once  cultivated 
plains.  Vestiges  of  the  ancient  field  enclo- 
sures may  still  be  traced ;  and  there  are  re- 
mains of  ancient  highways,  which  in  some 
places  are  completely  paved,  and  in  which 
there  are  milestones  of  the  time  of  Trajan,  Au- 
relius,  and  Severus,  with  the  number  of  the 
miles  still  legible  upon  them.  These  latter 
facts  show  that  the   land  of  Moab  continued 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  205 

to  be  populous  and  cultivated,  down  to  a  period 
considerably  subsequent  to  that  in  which  the 
canon  of  Scripture  was  closed.*  There  could, 
therefore,  in  the  times  of  the  prophets,  have 
been  no  probability  that  it  would  ever  be  re- 
duced to  that  state  of  utter  desolation  "  in 
which  it  has  continued  for  so  many  ages,  and 
which  vindicates  to  this  hour  the  truth  of 
Scripture  prophecy." 

The  cities  shall  he  desolate,  without  any  to 
dwell  therein.  The  spoiler  shall  come  upon  every 
city,  no  city  shall  escape. — We  have  already 
adverted  to  the  ancient  populousness  of  the 
land  of  Moab.  There  are  few  modem  coun- 
tries so  thickly  covered  with  inhabited  towns 
as  Moab  is  with  ruined  and  deserted  ones. 
The  accounts  of  this  region  were,  until  the 
early  part  of  the  present  century,  uncommonly 
meagre ;  "  for,  through  fear  of  the  predatory 
Arabs  by  whom  it  is  frequented,  none  of  the 
numerous  travellers  in  Palestine  ventured  to 
explore  it.  *  Seetzen,  who,  in  February  and 
March,  1806,  not  without  danger  of  his  life, 
undertook  a  tour  from  Damascus  down  to  the 
south  of  Jordan  and  the  Dead  Sea,  and  thence 
to  Jerusalem,  was  the  first  to  shed  a  new  and 
altogether  unexpected  light  upon  the  topogra- 

*  Pictorial  Bible — Irby  and  Mangles — Burckhardt. 


206  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

phy  of  this  region,  and  thereby  upon  our  pro- 
phecy. He  found  a  muhitude  of  places,  or  at 
least  ruins  of  places,  still  bearing  the  old 
names."*  Since  that  period  it  has  been  visited 
by  several  other  travellers.  Burckhardt  men- 
tions the  names  of  forty  ruined  sites,  which 
he  passed  in  the  course  of  his  route  through 
this  country.  Messrs.  Irby  and  Mangles  tell 
us,  "  the  whole  of  the  plains  are  covered  with 
the  sites  of  towns,  on  every  eminence  or  spot 
convenient  for  the  situation  of  one."  Among 
the  ruins  are  the  remains  of  temples,  sepulchral 
monuments,  and  other  edifices.  In  some  of  the 
buildings  are  stones  twenty  feet  in  length,  and 
so  broad  that  one  constitutes  the  thickness 
of  the  wall.  Many  of  these  sites  of  ruins  still 
bear  names  corresponding  to  those  by  which 
the  cities  of  Moab  are  designated  in  Scripture. 
Burckhardt  says, — "  The  ruins  of  Eleale,  Hesh- 
bon,  Meon,  Medeba,  Dibon,  and  Aroer,  all 
situated  on  the  north  side  of  the  Arnon,  still 
subsist,  to  illustrate  the  history  of  the  children 
of  Israel.f  To  the  south  of  the  wild  torrent 
Modjeb  [Arnon]  I  found  the  considerable  ruins 

*  Gesenius  on  Isaiah. 

t  Before  the  time  of  Moses,  that  part  of  Moab  ^hich 
lay  north  of  the  Arnon,  had  been  conquered  by  the  Amo- 
rites,  from  whom  it  was  afterward  taken  by  the  Israel- 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  207 

of  Rabbat  Moab."  This  city,  which  was  the 
capital  of  Moab,  was  called  Rabbath-moab,  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  Ammonite  city  of  the 
same  name ;  it  is  sometimes  also  called  Ar ; 
the  Greeks  called  it  Areopolis.  The  ruins 
which  still  bear  the  name  of  Rabba  are  situ- 
ated about  twenty-five  miles  south  of  the 
Amon,  on  a  low  hill  which  commands  the 
whole  plain ;  those  which  now  appear  are 
comprehended  within  the  circuit  of  a  little 
more  than  a  mile.  There  are  several  remains 
of  private  buildings,  but  none  entire ;  and  the 
only  conspicuous  objects  among  the  ruins  are 
the  remains  of  a  temple  or  palace,  of  which 
the  walls  and  several  niches  are  still  stand- 
ing, the  gate  of  another  building,  two  Co- 
rinthian columns,  and  an  insulated  altar  in  the 
plain :  no  traces  of  its  walls  are  now  to  be 
found.  Jerome  says  the  city  was  overthrown 
by  an  earthquake  when  he  was  a  young  man. — 
The  name  of  Dibon  is  still  preserved  in  a 
ruined  town  called  Diban,  situated  in  a  fine 

ites,  and  given  to  the  tribe  of  Reuben.  When  the  tribes 
beyond  Jordan  were  carried  into  captivity,  the  Moabites 
recovered  this  part  of  their  old  territory  :  they  held  it  in 
the  time  of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  and  most  of  the  cities 
of  Moab  mentioned  by  these  prophets  once  belonged  to 
the  Israelites. 


208  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

plain,  about  three  miles  north  of  the  Arnon. 
The  ruins,  which  are  of  considerable  extent, 
present  nothing  of  interest. — Heshbon,  now 
called  Heshan,  was  situated  about  sixteen  miles 
north  of  the  Arnon.  The  ruins  of  a  consider- 
able town  still  exist,  and  cover  the  sides  of  an 
insulated  hill.  There  are  a  number  of  deep 
wells  cut  in  the  rocks,  and  also  a  large  re- 
servoir intended  to  hold  water  for  the  summer 
supply  of  the  inhabitants. — The  name  of  Me- 
deba  is  still  preserved  in  that  of  Madeha,  ap- 
plied to  a  large  ruined  town  situated  on  a 
round  hill  about  six  miles  south-east  of  Hesh- 
bon. Here  is  an  immense,  well-built  tank  or 
cistern,  one  hundred  and  thirty  yards  wide  by 
one  hundred  and  fifteen  deep,  which,  as  there 
is  no  stream  at  Medeba,  might  still  be  of  use  to 
the  Bedouins,  were  the  surrounding  ground 
cleared  of  the  rubbish  to  allow  the  water  to 
flow  into  it ;  but,  as  Burckhardt  remarks,  such 
an  undertaking  is  far  beyond  the  views  of  the 
wandering  Arabs.  Not  a  single  edifice  is  stand- 
ing ;  but  on  the  west  side  of  the  town  are  the 
remains  of  a  temple,  built  of  large  blocks  of 
stone,  and  apparently  of  great  antiquity.* — 
Several  other  places  might  also  be  enumerated, 
*  Pictorial  Bible — Seetzen — Burckhardt — Irby  and  Man- 
gles— G.  Robinson. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  209 

but  as  they  "  are  remarkable  for  nothing  but 
what  is  common  to  them  with  all  the  cities  of 
Moab — their  entire  desolation" — it  is  needless 
to  enter  into  further  details. 

Of  all  the  cities  in  this  region,  Karrak,  a 
frontier  town  on  the  southern  border,  is  the  only 
one  now  inhabited  by  man.  In  the  early  ages 
of  Christianity  it  was  an  important  city,  and 
the  seat  of  a  bishopric ;  but  "  its  walls  have 
mostly  fallen  down,  and  Karrak  can  now  justly 
lay  claim  to  nothing  more  than  the  name  of 
village." 
"  The  spoiler  hath  come  upon  Moab, 

And  hath  destroyed  her  strong  holds ; 

Her  cities  are  desolate,  without  any  to  dwell  therein." 

"  In  view  of  the  prophecies  and  facts  in  rela- 
tion to  the  land  of  Moab,  we  may  observe,  that 
we  have  here  an  evidence  of  the  genuineness 
and  truth  of  the  sacred  records.  Here  is  a  pro- 
phetic description  of  a  land  and  its  numerous 
towns,  made  nearly  three  thousand  years  ago, 
and  in  its  minutest  particulars  it  is  sustained 
by  all  the  travellers  of  modern  times  ; — every 
successive  visiter  brings  some  additional  con- 
firmation of  the  truth  of  the  prophecy. — The 
remains  of  once  splendid  cities,  dilapidated 
walls,  half  demolished  temples,  and  fragments 
broken  and  consumed  by  time,  proclaim  to  the 
14 


210  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

world  that  those  cities  are  what  the  prophets, 
under  the  inspiration  of  God,  foretold  they 
would  be."* 

That  such  numerous  cities,  which  had  sub- 
sisted for  so  many  ages,  should,  all  of  them, 
ever  be  reduced  to  such  a  state  of  utter  desola- 
tion and  desertion  as  that  in  which  we  now 
find  them,  was,  in  the  time  of  the  prophets,  an 
event  so  utterly  improbable  as  to  surpass  all 
human  conception.  They  were  then,  and  at  a 
period  long  subsequent,  in  the  most  prosperous 
and  flourishing  condition.  Their  fate  could 
only  have  been  foreseen  by  Him  who  knoweth 
the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  to  whom  the 
events  of  the  future  are  as  manifest  as  those 
that  have  long  been  past. 

*  Bames  on  Isaiah. 


SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY.  211 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PROPHECIES    CONCERNING    PHILISTIA. 

The  Philistines— Their  origin  and  country— Prophecies  coBcem« 
ing  tliem — The  Philistines  as  a  people  are  extinct— Their  country 
neglected  and  well  nigh  depopulated — Its  present  condition  as 
described  by  Volney  and  Addison— Ancient  Gaza  destroyed  and 
forsaken— Description  of  modern  Gaza— Askelon  desolate  and 
uninhabited — Description  of  its  ruins — Description  of  the  valley 
between  Askelon  and  Gaza — Former  strength  and  importance^ 
and  present  state  of  Ashdod— Ekron  is  utterly  destroyed. 

The  Philistines  were  descended  from  Miz- 
raim,  the  second  son  of  Ham,  by  whom  Egypt 
was  originally  peopled.  They  seem  to  have  left 
that  country  at  an  early  period,  and  to  have 
'  fixed  themselves  on  the  western  coast  of  Ca- 
naan, expelling  the  Avites,  by  whom  it  had  been 
previously  occupied.  The  period  of  their  set- 
tling in  Canaan  is  unknown,  but  it  must  have 
been  considerably  before  the  time  of  Abraham. 
They  soon  became  so  powerful  as  to  give  to 
the  whole  country  the  name  of  Palestine,  by 
which  it  was  known  even  in  the  time  of  Moses, 
(Exod.  XV,  14,)  and  under  which  it  is  mention- 
ed by  Greek  and  Roman  writers.  The  part  of 
Palestine  actually  occupied  by  the  Philistines 
was,  however,  of  very  inconsiderable  extent, 
being  merely  a  narrow  strip  extending  about 


212  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

sixty  miles  along  tlie  coast  from  the  "  river  of 
Egypt,"  nearly  to  the  bay  of  Joppa.  This  tract 
of  country,  wliich,  as  travellers  inform  us,  is 
still  called  Phalastin  by  the  natives,  is  naturally 
very  fertile  :  on  the  distribution  of  the  land  of 
Canaan  among  the  Israelites  it  fell  to  the  lot 
of  Judah,  but  the  people  of  that  tribe  were  never 
able  to  dispossess  the  Philistines  of  it.  In  the 
time  of  Joshua,  the  country  of  the  Philistines 
was  divided  into  five  principalities  or  lord- 
ships ;  namely,  Gaza,  Askelon,  Ashdod,  Gath 
and  Ekron. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  principal 
prophecies  concerning  this  people,  and  their 
country : — 

"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  ; 

*  Behold,  I  will  stretch  out  my  hand  upon  the  Philistines, 
And  destroy  the  remnant  of  the  sea-coasts.'  " 

EZEK.  XXV,   16. 

"  Baldness  is  come  upon  Gaza  ;* 
Askelon  is  cut  off  with  the  remnant  of  their  valley." 

Jer.  xlvii,  5. 

*  Shaving  the  head  was  anciently,  in  Eastern  countries, 
a  token  of  mourning,  and  was  commonly  practised  on  oc- 
casion of  the  death  of  a  relative,  or  in  a  time  of  general 
calamity.  Isa.  xxii,  12  ;  Jer.  xvi,  6 ;  Micah  i,  16.  In  al- 
lusion to  this  custom,  the  prophets  use  the  term  "  bald- 
ness" in  a  figurative  sense,  to  denote  the  misery  that 
would  follow  the  infliction  of  God's  judgments  upon  guilty 
cities  and  nations.     Thus  in  the  present  case,  the  expres- 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  213 

**  For  three  transgressions  of  Gaza,  and  for  four, 

I  will  not  turn  away  the  punishment  thereof. 

I  will  send  a  fire  upon  the  walls  of  Gaza  which  shall 
devour  the  palaces  thereof. 

And  I  will  cut  off  the  inhabitant  from  Ashdod, 

And  him  that  holdeth  the  sceptre  from  Askelon  ; 

And  1  will  turn  my  hand  against  Ekron ; 

And  the  remnant  of  the  Philistines  shall  perish." 

Amos  i,  6-8. 
*  The  king  shall  perish  from  Gaza, 

And  Askelon  shall  not  be  inhabited."       Zkch.  ix,  5. 
**  For  Gaza  shall  be  forsaken, 

And  Askelon  a  desolation  : 

They  shall  drive  out  Ashdod  at  the  noon-day, 

And  Ekron  shall  be  rooted  up. 

Wo  unto  the  inhabitants  of  the  sea-coasts, 

The  nation 'of  the  Cherethites  !* 

The  word  of  the  Lord  is  against  you  ; 

0  Canaan,  the  land  of  the  Philistines, 

1  will  even  destroy  thee  that  there  shall  be  no  inhabitant. 
And  the  sea-coast  shall  be  dwellings  and  cottages  for 

shepherds,  and  folds  for  flocks."  Zech.  ii,  4-6. 

"  The  remnant  of  the  Philistines  shall  perish.^* 
— The  Philistines  were  the  most  powerful  and 
lasting  enemies  that  the  Israelites  had  to  en- 

sion  "  baldness  shall  come  upon  Gaza,"  signifies  no  more 
than  that  it  should  be  visited  by  some  heavy  calamity ; 
and  in  this  sense  the  word  is  used  in  several  other  pro- 
phecies. See  Isa.  xv,  2  ;  Ezek.  vii,  18  ;  Amos  viii,  10. 

*  The  Cherethites  were  Philistines,  as  were  also  the 
Pelethites. 


214  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

counter.  The  history  of  the  wars  between 
the  two  people  fills  a  large  space  in  the  histo- 
rical books  of  Scripture,  and  these  contests 
continued  to  be  waged  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Jewish  commonwealth  to  its  disso- 
lution at  the  captivity.  After  the  return  of  the 
Jews  to  their  own  country,  the  wars  between 
the  two  nations  were  revived  ;  but  in  the  time 
of  the  Maccabees,  the  Philistines  were  com- 
pletely subdued  by  the  Jews,  who  took  pos- 
session of  the  whole  country.  After  this  the 
Philistines  did  not  long  remain  as  a  separate 
people ;  they  probably  became  incorporated 
with  the  Jews  who  settled  in  their  country,  and 
hence,  though  they  are  before  us  from  the 
commencement  to  the  close  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment history,  they  are  not  once  mentioned  in 
the  New  Testament. 

"  /  will  destroy  the  land  of  the  Philistines  that 
there  shall  he  no  inhabitant;  and  the  sea-coast 
shall  he  dwellings  and  cottages  for  shepherds,  and 
folds  for  flocks.''^ — When  this  prophecy  was  de- 
livered, and  for  many  ages  after,  the  land  of 
the  Philistines  was  a  rich  and  well-cultivated 
region,  with  a  numerous  population,  and  strong- 
ly fortified  cities.  There  could  at  that  time 
have  been  no  human  probability  of  its  eventual 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  215 

desolation ;  yet  the  words  of  the  prophecy  con- 
tain an  accurate  description  of  the  state  of  that 
country  at  the  present  day,  and  for  several  cen- 
turies past.  It  partakes  of  the  general  desola- 
tion of  Judea  and  the  neighbouring  states.  Mr. 
Addison  says, — "  We  were  now  in  the  country 
anciently  inhabited  by  the  warlike  Philistines, 
the  uncircumcised  generation  who  at  different 
times  smote  the  Hebrews  with  great  slaughter, 
and,  in  the  memorable  battle  in  which  the  ark 
of  God  was  taken,  *  slew  of  the  Israelites  thirty 
thousand  footmen.'  We  were  traversing  the 
land  renowned  for  the  wonderful  exploits  of 
Samson.  The  country  is  vastly  different  from 
what  it  was  in  those  times.  The  vineyards  of 
Timnath  no  longer  exist ;  nor  are  lions  now 
anywhere  to  be  found.  At  the  present  day, 
*  three  hundred  foxes  turned  tail  to  tail,'  with 
*a  firebrand  in  the  midst  between  two  tails,' 
might  range  throughout  the  land  without  doing 
much  damage,  there  being  no  longer  *  the  shocks 
and  the  standing  corn,  with  the  vineyards  and 
olives,'  to  be  burned  up  with  fire,  as  at  the  pe- 
riod when  Samson  revenged  himself  on  the 
Philistines  for  the  loss  of  his  wife. 

By  the  expression,  "  it  shall  be  without  an 
inhabitant,"  we  are  to  understand  that  the  coun- 
try should  be  in  a  great  measure  depopulated ; 


216  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

not  that  it  should  be  literally  without  a  single 
inhabitant.  That  this  is  the  meaning  of  the 
prophet  is  evident  from  the  words  which  im- 
mediately follow,  and  in  which  he  describes 
the  kind  of  persons  by  whom  the  country  should 
be  occupied.  "  And  the  sea-coast  shall  be  dwell- 
ings and  cottages  for  shepherds,  and  folds  for 
flocks."  And  this,  Mr.  Richardson  says,  is  the 
literal  truth  at  present  with  respect  to  the  Phi- 
listine coast  in  general,  and  in  particular  of 
Askelon  and  its  vicinity. 

But  the  most  striking  corroboration  of  the 
divine  prediction  is  that  supplied  by  Volney,  in 
the  account  which  he  gives  of  the  modern 
state  of  the  land  of  the  Philistines.  "  In  the 
plain  between  Ramla  and  Gaza,  we  meet  with 
a  number  of  villages,  badly  built,  of  dried  mud, 
and  which,  like  the  inhabitants,  exhibit  every 
mark  of  poverty  and  wretchedness.  The 
houses,  on  a  nearer  view,  are  only  so  many 
huts,  sometimes  detached,  and  sometimes 
ranged  in  the  form  of  cells  around  a  court-yard, 
enclosed  by  a  mud  wall.  In  winter,  the  people 
and  their  cattle  may  be  said  to  live  together, 
the  part  of  the  dwelling  allotted  to  themselves 
being  only  raised  two  feet  above  that  in  which 
they  lodge  their  beasts. — The  environs  of  these 
villages  are  sown,  at  the  proper  season,  with 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  217 

grain  and  water-melons ;  all  the  rest  is  a  de- 
sert, and  abandoned  to  the  Bedouin  Arabs  who 
feed  their  flocks  on  it.  At  every  step  we  meet 
with  ruins  of  towns,  dungeons,  and  castles  with 
fosses,  and  sometimes  a  garrison,  consisting  of 
the  lieutenant  of  an  Aga,  and  two  or  three  Bar- 
bary  soldiers,  with  nothing  but  a  shirt  and  a 
musket ;  but  more  frequently  they  are  inhabited 
by  jackals,  owls,  and  scorpions." 

"  I  will  send  a  fire  upon  the  walls  of  Gaza, 
which  shall  devour  the  palaces  thereof, — The  king 
shall  perish  from  Gaza. — Gaza  shall  he  for^ 
sakenP — Gaza  was  situated  on  the  Mediterra- 
nean coast,  about  sixty  miles  south-west  of  Je- 
rusalem, and  was  the  most  southern  of  the 
Philistine  principalities.  Its  situation  as  a 
frontier  defence  against  Egypt,  rendered  it  at 
all  tim6s  a  place  of  importance,  and  exposed 
it  to  many  revolutions.  In  the  year  three  hun- 
dred and  thirty-one  before  Christ,  it  was  taken, 
but  not  destroyed,  by  Alexander  the  Great,  af- 
ter the  siege  of  Tyre ;  in  one  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  before  Christ,  it  was  taken  and 
plundered  by  Antiochus,  king  of  Syria ;  and  one 
hundred  years  later,  it  was  utterly  destroyed  by 
Alexander  Janneus,  king  of  Judea.  It  lay  de- 
solate about  forty  years,  when  it  was  rebuilt  by 


218  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

Gabinus,  the  Roman  governor  of  Syria.  It 
was  afterward,  according  to  Josephus,  again 
destroyed  by  the  Jews,  with  several  other 
towns,  to  avenge  a  massacre  of  their  country- 
men at  Cesarea.  This  explains  the  expres- 
sion used  by  St.  Luke,  who,  in  mentioning 
Gaza,  observes  that  it  was  then  "  desert."  Acts 
viii,  26. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  Gaza  which  exist- 
ed in  the  time  of  the  prophets  did  actually  be- 
come ruined  and  desolate.  It  was  also  literally 
"  forsaken,"  as  the  modem  town,  though  it  re- 
tains the  name,  does  not  occupy  the  site  of  the 
old  city,  having  been  built  nearer  the  sea.  As 
modern  Gaza  is  the  only  place  of  any  note  now 
existing  in  the  country  formerly  occupied  by 
the  Philistines,  some  account  of  it,  though  not 
exactly  illustrating  the  prophecy,  may  not  be 
altogether  out  of  place.  The  best  description 
is  that  of  Sandys,  of  which  the  following 
abridgment  comprises  the  substance  : — 

"  It  stands  upon  a  hill  surrounded  with  valleys, 
and  those  again  well-nigh  environed  with  hills, 
most  of  them  planted  with  all  sorts  of  delicate 
fruits.  The  buildings  mean,  both  of  forme  and 
matter  ;  the  best  but  low,  of  rough  stone,  arch- 
ed within,  and  flat  on  the  top,  including  a  quad- 
rangle ;   the  walls  surmounting  their  roofes, 


^ 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  219 

wrought  througli  with  potsheards  to  catch  and 
strike  downe  the  refreshing  winds,  having  spouts 
of  the  same,  in  colour,  shape,  and  sight,  re- 
sembling great  ordnance.  Others  covered  with 
mats  and  hurdles  ;  some  built  of  mud  ;  amongst 
all,  not  any  comely  or  convenient.  Yet  there 
are  some  reliques  left,  and  some  impressions, 
that  testifie  a  better  condition ;  for  divers  simple 
roofes  are  supported  with  goodly  pillars  of  Pa- 
rian marble,  some  plaine,  some  curiously  carved 
A  number  broken  in  pieces  doe  serve  for  thresh- 
olds, jambs  of  doores,  and  sides  of  windowes. 
On  the  north-east  corner  and  summitie  of  the 
hill  are  the  mines  of  huge  arches,  sunke  low 
in  the  earth,  and  other  foundations  of  a  stately 
building. — On  the  west  side  of  the  city,  out  of 
sight,  and  yet  within  hearing,  is  the  sea,  seven 
furlongs  off,*  where  they  have  a  decayed  and 
unsafe  port,  of  small  auaile  at  this  day  to  the 
inhabitants.  In  the  valley,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  city,  are  many  straggling  buildings." 

"  This  is  a  more  complete  account  of  Gaza 
than  any  which  later  travellers  give  ;  and  the 
most  of  it  is  still  applicable,  except  that  some 
of  the  ancient  remains  of  columns,  &c.,  have 
disappeared.  The  town  being  surrounded  by, 
and  interspersed  with,  gardens  and  plantations 
*  Recent  travellers  make  it  more. 


220  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

of  olive  and  date  trees,  has  a  picturesque  ap- 
pearance ;  and  the  interior,  though  mean,  dis- 
appoints expectation  rather  less  than  do  most 
Syrian  towns." — Pict.  Bible. 

"  Askelon  shall  he  a  desolation. — Askelon  shall 
not  he  inhabited." — ^Askelon  was  situated  about 
twelve  miles  north  of  Gaza,  and  was  accounted 
the  most  strongly  fortified  town  on  the  Philis- 
tine coast.  It  was  seated  on  a  hill  which  pre- 
sents an  abrupt,  wave-beaten  face  to  the  sea, 
but  slopes  gently  landward,  where  a  ridge  of 
rock  winds  around  the  town  in  a  semicircular 
direction,  terminating  at  each  extremity  in  the 
sea.  On  this  rock  the  walls  were  built,  the 
foundations  of  which  remain  all  the  way  around, 
and  though  generally  ruined,  maintain  in  some 
places  their  original  elevation,  wliich  was  con- 
siderable ;  they  are  of  great  thickness,  and 
flanked  with  towers  at  different  distances.  It 
is  remarkable  that  the  ground  falls  within  the 
walls,  as  it  does  on  the  outside  ;  the  town  is, 
therefore,  situated  in  a  hollow,  so  that  no  part 
of  the  b/iildings  could  be  seen  from  without 
the  walls. 

In  the  early  ages  of  Christianity,  Askelon 
became  the  seat  of  a  bishopric ;  and  in  the 
time  of  the  crusades,  the  degree  of  consequence 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  221 

which  it  still  retained,  and  the  strength  of  its 
position,  caused  its  possession  to  be  warmly 
contested  between  the  Christians  and  the  Sa- 
racens. Since  the  expulsion  of  the  Christians 
it  has  ceased  to  be  a  place  of  any  importance. 
"  Sandys,  early  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
describes  it  then  as  *  a  place  of  no  note  ;  more 
than  that,  the  Turke  doth  keepe  there  a  garri- 
son.' It  is  now  of  still  less  note,  being  an  en- 
tirely deserted  ruin, — *  a  scene  of  desolation,' 
says  Mr.  Joliffe,  *  the  most  complete  I  ever  wit- 
nessed, except  at  Nicopolis.' " — Pict.  Bible. 

The  fullest  description  of  the  present  state 
of  Askelon  is  that  given  by  Mr.  Addison, 
which,  though  too  lengthy  to  be  inserted  en- 
tire, is  yet  too  interesting  to  be  altogether 
omitted.  The  following  abridgment  embraces 
the  most  important  particulars  : — "  We  now 
crossed  a  bare,  uncultivated  country,  and  the 
guide,  pointing  to  a  hill  in  front,  upon  which 
some  crumbling  walls  were  visible,  announced 
to  us  *  the  ruins  of  Askelon.'  We  ascended  to 
the  summit  of  the  eminence,  and  clamber- 
ing through  a  gap  in  the  walls,  over  loose 
masses  of  stone,  imbedded  in  cement,  we  gazed 
over  a  hollow  valley,  within  which  lay  ex- 
tended the  solitary  ruins  of  the  once  populous 
and  flourishing  city.     On  an  eminence  above 


222  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

towered  the  tottering  walls  of  a  ruined  monas- 
tery, and  around,  in  every  direction,  extended 
a  succession  of  bare,  arid  sand-hills,  bordered 
by  a  low  and  desolate  sandy  coast. 

"  Descending  into  the  hollow,  we  wandered 
amid  masses  of  masonry,  heaps  of  stone,  and 
mounds  of  rubbish.  Here  and  there  we  per- 
ceived the  mutilated  shafts  of  gray  granite 
columns,  and  some  broken  pillars  of  coarse  mar- 
ble. The  foundations  of  walls  and  the  ruins 
of  houses  encumbered  the  ground  at  every 
step,  and  the  remains  of  gardens  and  of 
courts,  once  attached  to  the  domestic  habita- 
tions of  the  city,  were  plainly  distinguishable 
on  all  sides.  These  confused  heaps  present  a 
scene  of  thorough  desolation ;  not  a  single 
column  is  erect,  nor  a  single  shaft  entire. 

"  We  wandered  down  to  the  sea-shore,  and 
crossed  over  the  shattered  masses  of  wall 
which  once  formed  the  defences  of  the  town 
toward  the  sea.  Askelon  was  the  principal 
maritime  town  of  the  Philistines  ;  now  not  the 
vestige  of  a  port  is  traceable.  A  wild,  soli- 
tary, naked  coast  stretches  far  away  on  either 
side,  and  no  safe  refuge  for  ships  is  now  any- 
where to  be  distinguished. 

"  The  ruined  monastery  before  alluded  to 
was  the  last  inhabited  dwelling  on  the  spot.   A 


SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY.  223 

few  monks  here  sheltered  themselves  amid 
the  ruins  of  the  once  populous  city,  and  for  a 
long  time  struggled  against  the  genius  of  deso- 
lation which  brooded  over  the  place  ;  they  cul- 
tivated a  little  garden,  and  subsisted  on  the 
charity  of  distant  brethren.  Their  resources, 
however,  at  last  diminished — the  support  from 
abroad  was  withdrawn — ^the  building  was 
gradually  allowed  to  go  to  ruin ;  some  of 
the  monks  sought  refuge  in  other  establish- 
ments, and  the  last  of  the  inhabitants  of  As- 
kelon  was  laid  in  his  sandy  grave  many  a  year 
back.  Upon  this  forlorn  spot,  where  once  was 
congregated  a  large  population,  and  where  once 
stood  the  proudest  of  the  five  satrapies  of  the 
Philistines,  there  is  now  not  a  single  inhabit- 
ant. There  is  not  a  dwelling  near  the  place, 
and  the  surrounding  country  is  deserted  and 
uncultivated.  Askelon  is  become  *  a  desola- 
tion,' it  is  '  not  inhabited.'  " 

'^Baldness  is  come  upon  Gaza ;  Askelon  is  cut 
off  with  the  remnant  of  their  valley ^ — The  pro- 
phet in  this  passage  evidently  alludes  to  the 
valley  lying  between  Gaza  and  Askelon.  San- 
dys gives  an  interesting  description  of  the  na- 
tural beauty  and  fertility,  and  at  the  same 
time  neglected  and  desolate  condition  of  this 


224  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

tract  of  country.  He  says, — "  Wee  past  this 
day  through  the  most  pregnant  and  pleasant 
valley  that  ever  eye  beheld.  On  the  right  hand 
a  ridge  of  high  mountaines,  whereon  stands  He- 
bron ;  on  the  left  hand  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
bordered  with  continuous  hills,  beset  with 
varietie  of  fruits ;  as  they  are  for  the  most 
part  of  this  daye's  ioumey.  The  champaine 
betweene,  about  twentie  miles  over  full  of 
flowry  hils  ascending  leasurely,  and  not  much 
surmounting  their  ranker  valleys,  with  groves 
of  olives  and  other  fruits  dispersedly  adorned. 
Yet  is  this  wealthy  bottome  (as  are  all  the 
rest)  for  the  most  part  uninhabited  but  only 
for  a  few  small  and  contemptible  villages, 
possessed  by  barbarous  Moores,  [Arabs,]  who 
till  no  more  than  will  serve  to  feed  them  : — the 
grasse  waste-high,  unmowed,  uneaten,  and  use- 
lessly withering." 

"  /  will  cut  off  the  inhabitants  from  Ashdod. — 
Ashdod  shall  he  driven  out  at  noon-day. ^^ — This 
town  was  situated  between  Ekron  on  the  north 
and  Askelon  on  the  south.  It  was  nearer  to 
the  sea  than  the  former,  but  not  so  near  as 
the  latter,  which  seems  to  have  been  the  only 
one  of  the  five  that  stood  close  out  to  the  shore. 
It  was  anciently  a  place  of  much  importance, 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  225 

and  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  great  strength. 
It  is  distinguished  for  having  sustained  the 
longest  siege  recorded  in  history,  having  been 
besieged  for  twenty-nine  years  by  Psammitti- 
cus,  king  of  Egypt.  In  the  time  of  the  Mac- 
cabees, it  was  taken  and  destroyed  by  the 
Jews.  It  was  probably  to  this  event  that  the 
preceding  prophecies  referred.  Under  the  Ro- 
mans, Ashdod  was  rebuilt,  and  it  is  mentioned 
in  Acts  viii,  40,  under  the  name  of  Azotus.  "In 
the  early  ages  of  Christianity  it  became  the 
seat  of  a  bishopric,  and  it  continued  to  be  a 
fair  village  till  the  time  of  Jerome.  It  is  now 
an  inconsiderable  place.  Volney  says, — 
"  Leaving  Yabna,  we  met  successively  with 
various  ruins,  the  most  considerable  of  which 
are  at  Ezdoud,  the  ancient  Azotus,  famous  at 
present  for  its  scorpions.  This  town,  so  pow- 
erful under  the  Philistines,  affords  no  proof  of 
its  ancient  importance." 

"/  will  turn  my  hand  against  Ekron. — Ekron 
shall  be  rooted  up" — This  was  the  most  north- 
ern of  the  Philistine  cities.  "  In  the  time  of 
Jerome  it  was  a  large  village,  and  was  then 
called  Accaron.  In  the  time  of  Breidenbachius, 
whose  Travels  were  first  published  in  1486,  it 
had  declined  from  a  village  to  a  solitary  cot- 
15 


226  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

tage  or  hut,  which  still  bore  the  ancient  name. 
No  traces  of  the  name  or  site  can  now  be  dis- 
covered."—  Pict.  Bible,  Dr.  Robinson  found, 
near  the  spot  where  Ekron  must  have  been 
situated,  a  village  named  Akir,  which,  he  says, 
"there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt,  answers  to 
the  ancient  Ekron.  It  is  of  considerable  size  ; 
but  we  could  perceive  nothing  to  distinguish  it 
from  other  modern  villages  of  the  plain.  Like 
them  it  is  built  of  unburnt  bricks  or  mud  ;  and 
exhibits  to  the  eye  of  the  traveller  no  marks  of 
antiquity."  Whether  this  village  occupies  the 
site  of  the  ancient  city  of  the  Philistines  or  not, 
the  integrity  of  the  prophecy  is  not  in  any  way 
affected  by  it,  Akir  being  only  a  modern  village, 
exhibiting  no  marks  of  antiquity.  The  Ekron  of 
Scripture  is  "  rooted  up : "  so  completely  has  the 
prediction  been  accomplished,  that  not  a  ruin  is 
left  to  designate  the  spot  on  which  the  city  stood. 

Thus  have  the  prophecies  respecting  Philistia 
been  accomplished:  the  people  have  perished, 
and  the  land  is  mostly  desolate ;  ancient  Gaza 
has  been  demolished  and  forsaken ;  Askelon 
is  a  desolation,  and  its  ruins  do  not  shelter  a 
single  inhabitant ;  the  inhabitants  are  cut  off 
from  Ashdod ;  and  Ekron  is  rooted  up. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  227 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PROPHECIES    CONCERNING    NINEVEH. 

Obscurity  of  its  early  history — Its  situation,  and  antiquity — 
Its  extraordinary  dimensions — Diodorus's  account  of  it — Was  not 
a  compactly  built  city — Probable  number  of  inhabitants — Nineveh 
a  commercial  city — Was  an  exceedingly  wicked  as  well  as  great 
city — Jonah's  mission — Repentance  of  the  Ninevites — Their 
relapse — Nahum  foretels  the  fall  of  Nineveh — Remarks  on  Na- 
hum's  prophecies — Substance  of  his  predictions — Zephaniah's 
prophecy  respecting  Nineveh — Prosperous  state  of  Nineveh 
when  these  prophecies  were  uttered — Nineveh  taken  by  the 
Medes  and  Babylonians — ^Particulars  of  its  siege  suid  capture, 
showing  the  Uteral  fulfilments  of  the  prophecies— The  final  and 
utter  desolation  of  Nineveh  foretold— AccompUshment  of  this 
prediction — Notices  respecting  the  site  of  Nineveh,  from  several 
modem  travellers — Conclusion. 

"  Of  the  early  history  of  the  great  Assyrian 
empire,  little  is  with  certainty  known.  The 
bewildering  antiquity  of  its  origin — the  im- 
mensity of  its  dominion — the  splendiftir  and 
gigantic  bulk  of  its  cities — and  the  utter  deso- 
lation that,  for  long  ages,  has  overspread  them, 
invest  the  subject  with  the  character  of  a  mag- 
nificent dream.  Yet  that  such  cities  as  Nine- 
veh and  Babylon  have  existed,  and  with  a 
grandeur  perhaps  never  since  equalled,  we  can- 
not but  believe.  The  ashes  still  remain  to 
prove  that  the  Titanic  forms  have  been ;"  and 
their  extent  and  splendour  are  recorded  on  the 
page  of  both  sacred  and  profane  history. 


228  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

"  There  are  few  ruins  of  ancient  cities 
around  which  lingers  a  stronger  interest  than 
those  of  Nineveh.  It  was  one  of  the  first 
founded  cities  in  the  world.  Its  reputed  great- 
ness has  almost  the  air  of  an  eastern  fable.  It 
was  the  theatre  of  an  extraordinary  mission  of 
one  Hebrew  prophet,  while  another  foretold  its 
desolation  in  words  of  brief  but  terrible  im- 
port."* 

Nineveh  was  the  capital  of  the  first  Assy- 
rian empire,  and  stood  on  the  bank  of  the  river 
Tigris.  There  is  some  uncertainty  as  to  its 
exact  site,  but  the  testimony  of  most  ancient 
writers  concurs  with  the  local  traditions  to  fix 
it  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river,  opposite  the 
modern  town  of  Mosul,  where  there  are  seve- 
ral extensive  mounds  of  decayed  ruins,  and 
where  the  little  village  of  Nunia  [Nineveh]  still 
preserves  the  remembrance  of  its  name.  It 
was  one  of  the  most  ancient  cities  of  the 
world,  having  been  founded  shortly  after  the 
deluge,  by  Asshur  the  son  of  Shem,t  Gen.  x^ 
1 1 ,  but  it  did  not  rise  to  any  considerable 
greatness  until  many  centuries  after,  when, 
about  the  year  1230  B.  C.  it  was  enlarged  ly 

*  American  Biblical  Repository,  vol.  ix. 
t  From  him  also  the  country  derived  its  name  ;  Asshur 
being  the  Hebrew  word  for  Assyria. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  229 

Nintis,  its  second  founder,  and  became  the  great- 
est city  in  the  world,  and  mistress  of  the  East. 

In  Jonah  iii,  3,  it  is  said  that  "  Nineveh  was 
an  exceeding  great  city  of  three  days'  journey;" 
that  is,  the  circuit,  or  circumference,  of  the  city 
was  three  days'  journey :  and  with  this  agree 
the  accounts  of  ancient  writers,  who  estimate 
the  circuit  of  Nineveh  at  four  hundred  and 
eighty  stadia,*  which  will  make  three  days' 
journey,  one  hundred  and  fifty  stadia  being,  ac- 
cording to  Herodotus,  the  common  computa- 
tion of  a  day's  journey  for  a  foot  traveller.  In 
form,  the  city  was  not  square,  but  oblong ;  its 
greatest  length  extended  along  the  bank  of  the 
Tigris,  while  its  breadth  reached  from  the 
river  to  the  eastern  hills. 

As  none  of  the  ancient  historians  who  men- 
tion Nineveh  lived  till  after  its  destruction, 
their  accounts,  derived  from  old  records  and 
reports,  are  necessarily  brief  and  imperfect. 
The  best  account  is  that  given  by  Diodorus, 
who  states,  that  Ninus,  one  of  the  kings  of  As- 
syria, having  surpassed  all  his  predecessors  in 

*  If  Roman  stadia  are  here  meant,  it  would  make  the 
circumference  of  Nineveh  to  be  sixty  miles ;  but  if,  as  is 
more  probable,  Greek  stadia  are  intended,  then  it  would 
be  only  forty-eight  miles  ;  the  Roman  stadium  being  one- 
eighth,  and  the  Greek  one-tenth  of  a  mile. 


230  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

the  glory  and  success  of  his  arms,  resolved  to 
build  a  city  of  such  state  and  grandeur,  that  it 
should  not  only  be  the  greatest  then  in  the 
world,  but  such  as  no  king  after  him  should 
easily  be  able  to  exceed.  Accordingly,  having 
brought  a  vast  number  of  his  forces  together,  and 
provided  every  thing  vv^hich  his  design  required, 
he  built  near  the  Tigris  a  city  very  famous  for 
its  walls  and  fortifications.  Its  length  was 
one  hundred  and  fifty  stadia,  its  breadth  ninety, 
and  its  circumference  four  hundred  and  eighty.* 
It  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  one  hundred  feet 
high,  and  so  thick  that  three  chariots  could 
easily  be  driven  upon  it  abreast ;  and  the  wall 
was  fortified  and  adorned  with  fifteen  hundred 
towers,  each  of  which  was  two  hundred  feet 
high.  Diodorus  adds,  that  the  founder  was  not 
deceived  in  his  expectations,  for  no  one  ever 
after  built  a  city  equal  to  it  in  the  extent  of  its 
circumference,  and  the  magnificence  of  its 
walls.f 

*  This  statement  of  the  form  and  dimensions  of  ancient 
Nineveh  corresponds  with  the  local  features  of  its  sup- 
posed site ;  for  though  it  might  have  stretched  its  front 
along  the  river  to  any  extent,  yet  its  breadth  was  limited 
to  about  ten  miles,  that  being  the  width  of  the  plain  be- 
tween the  river  and  the  range  of  hills  which  formed  the 
eastern  boundary  of  the  city. 

t  Pictorial  Bible. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  231 

We  must  not,  however,  suppose  that  the 
whole  of  the  vast  enclosure  of  Nineveh  was 
covered  with  compact  streets  and  buildings; 
it  doubtless,  like  ancient  Babylon,  and  like 
many  large  Oriental  cities  of  the  present  day, 
contained  extensive  plantations  and  gardens, 
as  well  as  pastures  for  the  "  much  cattle"  that 
were  in  the  city.  Jonah  iv,  11.  "The  extent 
of  Eastern  cities,  therefore,  forms  but  little 
guide  in  estimating  the  number  of  their  inha- 
bitants. The  compact,  close  streets  of  our 
cities,  present  a  striking  contrast  to  the  scat- 
tered mansions  of  the  East,  surrounded  with 
their  extensive  courts  and  gardens,  occupying 
at  least  an  even  portion  of  the  whole  area.  An 
equal  space,  therefore,  was  far  from  containing 
an  equal  number  of  men  as  with  us."* 

Of  the  population  of  Nineveh  we  have  no 
account,  except  the  statement  in  Jonah  iv,  11, 
that  it  contained  "  more  than  sixscore  thou- 
sand persons  that  could  not  discern  their  right 
hand  from  their  left."  By  this  form  of  expres- 
sion, young  children  are  commonly  understood, 
and  as  these  are  generally  reckoned  to  form 
one-fifth  of  the  inhabitants  of  any  place,  the 
population  of  Nineveh  may  be  estimated  to 
have  been  upward  of  six  hundred  thousand 
*  Heeren's  Historical  Researches. 


232  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

persons.  This  calculation  exhibits  the  force 
of  the  remarks  made  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph ;  for  the  city  of  London,  which  does  not 
occupy  more  than  one -fourth  of  the  grouna 
which  Nineveh  did,  contains  a  population  of 
two  millions. 

Nineveh  was  situated  very  commodiously  for 
the  purposes  of  commerce.  The  river  Tigris 
opened  a  ready  communication  with  the  Per- 
sian Gulf,  Southern  Asia,  and  the  shores  of  the 
Indian  Ocean.  Of  these  advantages  the  Nine- 
vites  seem  to  have  duly  availed  themselves,  for 
they  are  said  by  Nahum  to  have  "  multiplied 
their  merchants  as  the  stars  of  heaven,"  Na- 
hum iii,  16. 

But  as  in  other  great  and  rich  cities,  so  in 
Nineveh,  there  prevailed  extreme  depravity  of 
morals.  So  great  was  the  wickedness  of  its 
inhabitants,  that  Jehovah  commissioned  the  pro- 
phet Jonah  to  "  go  to  Nineveh  and  cry  against 
it,"  Jonah  i,  2.  The  word  of  the  Lord  came 
unto  him,  saying,  "  Arise,  go  up  to  Nineveh, 
that  great  city,  and  preach  unto  it  the  preach- 
ing that  I  bid  thee."  So  Jonah  arose,  and  went 
to  Nineveh,  and  proclaimed  tnrough  the  streets 
of  the  city,  "  Yet  forty  days  and  Nineveh  shall 
be  overthrown!"  Jonah  iii,  1-4.  The  threat- 
ened overthrow  was,  however,  averted  by  the 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  233 

general  repentance  and  humiliation  of  the  peo- 
ple. The  king,  as  soon  as  he  heard  the  mes- 
sage of  tlie  prophet,  arose  from  his  throne,  laid 
aside  his  robes,  and  covered  himself  with  sack- 
cloth. He  also  proclaimed  a  fast ;  and  the 
people  put  on  sackcloth,  and  cried  mightily  to 
God,  and  turned  from  their  evil  ways  ;  for  they 
said,  "  Who  can  tell  if  God  will  turn  away 
from  his  fierce  anger,  that  we  perish  not  ?" 
"  And  God  saw  their  works,  that  they  turned 
from  their  evil  way ;  and  God  repented  of  the 
evil  that  he  had  said  he  would  do  unto  them ; 
and  he  did  it  not,"  Jonah  iii,  5-10. 

The  repentance  of  the  Ninevites  appears, 
however,  to  have  been  more  deep  than  lasting. 
Their  sudden  reformation  proved  to  be  of  no 
long  continuance ;  "  like  the  morning  cloud, 
and  the  early  dew,"  it  soon  passed  away,  and 
they  turned  again  to  their  folly,  increasing  in 
wickedness  until  their  iniquities  again  aroused 
the  righteous  anger  of  an  offended  God.  Ac- 
cordingly, some  years  after,  we  find  the  pro- 
phet Nahum  foretelling  the  final  and  utter 
destruction  of  Nineveh ;  indeed,  his  whole  pro- 
phecy relates  to  the  overthrow  of  that  city  and 
the  proud  empire  of  which  it  was  capital. 

Speaking  of  Nahum,  Bishop  Lowth  remarks, 
— "  None  of  the  minor  prophets  are  equal  to 


234  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECT. 

him  in  boldness,  ardour,  and  sublimity.  His 
prophecy  forms  a  regular  and  perfect  poem ; 
the  exordium  is  not  merely  magnificent,  it  is 
truly  majestic  ;  the  preparation  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  Nineveh,  and  the  description  of  its 
downfall  and  desolation,  are  expressed  in  the 
most  vivid  colours,  and  are  bold  and  luminous 
in  the  highest  degree."*  Dr.  A.  Clarke  ob- 
serves, that  his  description  is  "  so  lively  and 
pathetic,  that  he  seems  to  have  been  upon  the 
spot  to  declare  to  the  Ninevites  the  ruin  of  their 
city."  The  following  passages  embrace  the 
substance  of  his  predictions  : — 

"THE   BURDEN   OF   NINEVEH. 

"  God  is  jealous,  and  the  Lord  revengeth ; 
The  Lord  revengeth,  and  is  furious ; 
The  Lord  will  take  vengeance  on  his  adversaries ; 
And  he  reserveth  wrath  for  his  enemies. 
The  Lord  is  slow  to  anger,  and  great  in  power, 
And  will  not  at  all  acquit  the  wicked : 
The  Lord  hath  his  way  in  the  whirlwind  and  the  storm, 
And  the  clouds  are  the  dust  of  his  feet. 
Who  can  stand  before  his  indignation  1 
And  who  can  abide  the  fierceness  of  his  anger  1 

"  The  Lord  is  good,  a  strong  hold  in  the  day  of  trouble  ; 
And  he  knoweth  them  that  trust  in  him. 
But  with  an  overrunning  flood 
He  will  make  an  utter  end  of  the  place  thereof, 

*  Lectures  on  Hebrew  Poetry. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  235 

And  darkness  shall  pursue  his  enemies. 
What  do  ye  imagine  against  the  Lord  1 
He  will  make  an  utter  end : 
Affliction  shall  not  rise  up  the  second  time. 
For  while  they  be  folden  together  as  thorns, 
And  while  they  are  drunken  as  drunkards, 
They  shall  be  devoured  as  stubble  fully  dry." 

Chap,  i,  1-3,  6-10. 
"  The  gates  of  the  river  shall  be  opened, 
And  the  palace  shall  be  dissolved. 
Take  ye  the  spoil  of  silver,  take  the  spoil  of  gold ; 
For  there  is  none  end  of  the  store  and  glory 
Out  of  all  the  pleasant  furniture. 
She  is  empty,  void,  and  waste ; 
And  the  heart  mclteth,  and  the  knees  smite  together." 

Chap,  ii,  6,  9,  10. 
*  Wo  to  the  bloody  city  ! 
It  is  all  full  of  lies  and  robbery. 
Behold,  I  am  against  thee,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts ; 
And  I  will  show  the  nations  thy  nakedness, 
And  the  kingdoms  thy  shame. 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass 

That  all  they  that  look  upon  thee  shall  flee  from  thee, 
And  say,  *  Nineveh  is  laid  waste.'  " — Chap,  iii,  1,  5, 6. 

These  predictions  were  delivered  soon  after 
the  carrying  away  of  the  ten  tribes  by  the 
Assyrians,  and  about  the  time  of  Sennacherib's 
invasion  of  Judah,  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah.  At 
a  subsequent  period,  during  the  reign  of  Josiah, 
the  fall  of  Nineveh  was  foretold  by  the  prophet 
Zephaniah,  in  the  following  words  : — 


236  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

"  The  Lord  will  stretch  out  his  hand  against  the  north, 
And  destroy  Assyria ; 
And  will  make  Nineveh  a  desolation, 
And  dry  like  a  wilderness. 
And  flocks  shall  lie  down  in  the  midst  of  her, 
All  the  beasts  of  the  nations. 
This  is  the  rejoicing  city  that  dwelt  carelessly, 
That  said  in  her  heart,  *  I  am,  and  there  is  none  beside 

me.* 
How  is  she  become  a  desolation, 
A  place  for  beasts  to  lie  down  in ! 
Every  one  that  passeth  by  her  shall  hiss  and  wag  his 

hand."  Zeph.  ii,  13-15. 

When  these  prophets  predicted  the  desola- 
tion of  Nineveh,  that  city  was  in  the  height  of 
its  glory,  and  its  king  the  mightiest  monarch  of 
his  day ; 

"  For  all  the  East  was  his, 
From  Indus  westward  to  the  Hellespont, — 
From  north  of  Caspian  to  the  Persian  Gulf, 
A  host  of  nations,  whom  no  tongue  could  sum. 
All  called  Assyria  lord  ;  and  year  by  year. 
To  giant  Nineveh  new  warriors  sent 
To  guard  her  monarch's  state,  and  grace  his  throne." 
Atherstone's  Fall  of  Nineveh, 

The  destruction  of  Nineveh  was  accomplish- 
ed by  the  confederate  forces  of  the  Medes  and 
Babylonians  ;  but  there  is  considerable  discre- 
pancy in  the  accounts  of  ancient  writers,  as  to 
the  time  when,  and  the  principal  agents  by 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  237 

whom  it  was  effected.  "  In  the  circumstances 
of  the  great  event,  however,  these  writers  sub- 
stantially agree  with  one  another,  and  with  the 
inspired  writers ;  and  as  the  circumstances 
alone  are  mentioned  by  the  latter,  and  as  cir- 
cumstantial corroborations  are  of  the  most  in- 
terest and  importance,  we  shall  confine  our 
notices  to  them.  We  shall  follow  the  account 
of  Diodorus,  which  is  not  only  the  most  com- 
plete and  connected  which  remains  to  us,  but 
is  proved  to  be  generally  accurate  by  the  re- 
markable illustration  which  it  affords  to,  and 
receives  from,  the  prophecies  of  Scripture  "* 

It  was  foretold  by  the  prophet,  that  a  great 
destruction  should  befall  the  Assyrians  while 
they  were  in  a  state  of  drunkenness.  "  While 
they  are  drunken  as  drunkards,  they  shall  be  de^ 
voured  as  stubble  fully  dry^ — On  the  advance 
of  the  allied  forces  of  the  Medes  and  Babylo- 
nians, the  king  of  Assyria  marched  against 
them,  and  defeated  them  in  three  successive 
battles.  Elated  with  these  victories,  the  As- 
syrians abandoned  themselves  to  revelry  and 
feasting.  The  invaders,  "  being  informed,  by 
some  deserters,  of  the  negligence  and  drunken- 
ness in  the  enemy's  camp,  assaulted  them  un- 
*  Pictorial  Bible. 


238  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECT. 

expectedly  by  night,  and  falling  orderly  on  them 
disorderly,  and  prepared  on  them  unprepared, 
easily  made  themselves  masters  of  the  camp, 
slew  many  of  the  soldiers,  and  drove  the  rest 
into  the  city." 

"  Thy  shepherds  slumber,  O  king  of  Assyria,''^ 
Nahum  iii,  18. — These  words  plainly  intimate 
that  the  Assyrians  should,  in  the  day  of  their 
calamity,  be  deserted  by  those  upon  whom  they 
relied  for  assistance.  And  such  was  the  fact. 
The  Assyrians  despatched  messengers  to  the 
various  tributary  provinces,  calling  upon  them 
for  succour  ;  but  they,  instead  of  rendering  any 
aid,  either  continued  in  a  state  of  inactivity,  or 
went  over  to  the  enemy.  Even  the  Bactrians, 
who  had  actually  marched  with  a  large  army  to 
their  assistance,  before  they  reached  Nineveh, 
were  induced  to  renounce  their  allegiance  and 
join  the  invaders. 

The  Assyrians  being  now  shut  up  within 
the  walls  of  the  city,  took  the  most  active  mea- 
sures for  their  defence.  The  city  was  well 
stored  with  provisions,  and  the  strong  and  lofty 
walls  seemed  to  defy  any  force  which  the  be- 
siegers could  bring  against  them.  Such  were 
the  strength  and  resources  of  the  place,  that 
nothing  of  any  consequence  was  effected  by 
the  besiegers  for  two  years.     But  the  end  came 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  239 

at  last,  and  in  the  manner  which  the  prophet 
had  foretold. 

"  With  an  overrunning  flood  will  he  make  an 
utter  end  of  the  place  thereof. — The  gates  of  the 
river  shall  be  opened." — These  passages  clearly 
indicate  the  agency  of  an  inundation  in  effect- 
ing the  overthrow  of  the  city.  And  this,  ac- 
cording to  Diodorus,  was  the  case.  He  says, 
— "  There  was  an  old  tradition,  that  Nineveh 
could  not  be  taken  unless  the  river  first  be- 
came an  enemy  to  the  city.  In  the  third 
year  of  the  siege,  the  river,  being  swollen  by 
continual  rains,  overflowed  part  of  the  city,  and 
threw  down  twenty  stadia  of  the  wall.  The 
king,  then  imagining  that  the  oracle  was  ac- 
complished, and  that  the  river  was  now  mani- 
festly become  an  enemy  to  the  city,  cast  aside 
all  hope  of  safety ;  and  to  avoid  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  he  built  a  large  funeral 
pile  in  the  palace,  and  having  collected  his  gold 
and  silver,  and  royal  vestments,  together  with 
all  his  household,  placed  himself  with  them  in 
an  apartment  built  in  the  midst  of  the  pile,  and 
burned  them,  himself,  and  the  palace  together. 
When  the  besiegers  heard  of  the  death  of  the 
king,  they  entered  in  by  the  breach  which  the 
waters  had  made,  and  took  the  city."     Thus 


340  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

was  the  prophecy  of  Nahum  literally  fulfilled  ; 
the  gates  of  the  river  were  opened,  and  the  palace 
was  dissolved,  or  burned.  It  is  worthy  of  re- 
mark, that  the  agency  oi  fire,  as  well  as  water, 
in  the  destruction  of  Nineveh,  was  also  foretold 
by  the  prophet.  Nahum  iii,  13,  15. 

It  was  predicted  that  the  besiegers  would 
find  much  spoil  when  they  took  the  city. — 
"  Take  ye  the  spoil  of  silver,  and  the  spoil  of  gold; 
for  there  is  none  end  of  the  store,^^  <fec. — Accord- 
ingly Diodorus  describes  the  conquerors  of 
Nineveh  as  being  greatly  enriched  by  the  booty 
which  they  found  there  ;  many  talents  of  gold 
and  silver*  were  collected  from  the  ashes  of 
the  funeral  pile,  and  the  rubbish  of  the  burned 
palace  of  the  Assyrian  king. 

The  entire  destruction,  and  perpetual  deso- 
lation of  Nineveh,  were  also  foretold. — "  The 
Lord  will  make  Nineveh  a  desolation,  a  place  for 
beasts  to  lie  down  in. — He  will  make  an  utter  end : 
affliction  shall  not  rise  up  a  second  time^ — Nine- 
veh, after  its  capture,  went  rapidly  to  ruin,  and 
its  decay  was  doubtless  hastened  by  the  en- 
largement and  beautifying  of  Babylon,  and  the 

*  A  talent  of  silver  is  worth  about  $1,700,  a  talent  of 
gold  about  $27,000. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  241 

removal  of  the  seat  of  empire  to  that  city.  The 
most  ancient  of  the  Greek  writers  who  mention 
Nineveh,  speak  of  it  as  a  place  that  had  long 
been  desolate.  Lucian,  who  lived  and  wrote 
in  the  second  century  after  Christ,  says, — 
"  Nineveh  is  so  utterly  destroyed,  that  no  ves- 
tige of  it  remains,  nor  is  it  easy  to  tell  the  spot 
where  it  formerly  stood.  In  the  year  637,  the 
emperor  Heraclius  defeated  the  Persians  in  a 
great  action  fought  on  the  convenient  battle- 
field offered  by  the  vacant  site  of  Nineveh."* 
Haitho,  the  Armenian,  in  1300,  says, — "This 
city  is  totally  ruined."  "  Master  John  Cart- 
wright,"  who  was  there  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  after  giving  a  summary 
of  the  ancient  accounts  of  the  great  Nineveh, 
adds, — "  Now  it  is  destroyed,  as  God  foretold  it 
should  bee  by  the  Chaldeans,  being  nothing  else 
than  a  sepulchre  of  herselfe."  In  a  later  age 
(1657)  The venot  remarks, — "  This  city  stood  on 
the  east  side  of  the  river,  where-are  to  be  seen 
some  of  its  ruins  of  great  extent  even  to  this 
day."  Tavernier  states,  that  "  the  ancient 
city  of  Nineveh  is  now  a  heap  of  rubbish  only, 
for  a  league  along  the  river,  full  of  vaults  and 
caverns." 

Niebuhr  has   the   following  remarks, — "As 

*  Gibbon,  chap.  C. 
16 


342  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

one  comes  to  Mosul,  in  this  direction,  lie  will 
pass  through  Nineveh.  I  was  not  aware  that 
I  was  passing  over  so  remarkable  a  spot,  till  I 
was  near  the  river.  Here  they  pointed  out  to 
me  a  village  on  a  large  hill,  which  was  called 
Nunia,  and  a  mosque  in  which  (it  is  said)  the 
prophet  Jonah  lies  buried.  Another  hill  on 
this  ground  was  called  Kalla  Nunia,  or  the 
*  Castle  of  Nineveh.' — While  I  was  at  Mosul, 
the  walls  of  Nineveh  were  pointed  out  to 
me.  These  I  had  not  before  observed  in 
my  tour  thither,  but  took  them  for  a  part  of 
the  hill." 

All  that  is  now  to  be  seen  in  this  spot  are 
numerous  mounds,*  supposed  to  consist  of  ruins, 
but  which  are  covered  with  earth,  and  grown 
over  with  grass.  "  It  is  not  easy,"  observes  Mr. 
Rich,  "  to  say  precisely  what  are  ruins  and 
what  are  not ;  what  is  art  converted  by  the 

*  Mr.  Buckingham  observes,  that  "  these  mounds  and 
smaller  heaps  of  ruins  are  scattered  widely  over  the  plain, 
sufficient  to  prove  that  the  site  of  the  original  city  occu- 
pied a  vast  extent,  notwithstanding  that  some  of  the  latest 
visiters  to  this  place  have  thought  that  the  remains  were 
confined  to  the  few  mounds  m  the  centre  only."  He  also 
remarks,  that  the  distance  to  which  the  mounds  extend,  left 
no  doubt  in  his  mind  that  the  dimensions  of  Nineveh  were 
fully  equal  to  the  accounts  given  of  it  by  ancient  geogra- 
phers and  historians 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  243 

lapse  of  ages  into  the  semblance  of  nature,  and 
what  is  merely  nature  broken  by  the  hand  of  time 
in  the  ruins  approaching  in  their  appearance  to 
those  of  art."*  Such  an  "  utter  end"  has  been 
made  of  Nineveh,  that  even  its  very  ruins  may 
be  said  to  have  been  long  ago  ruined  and  de- 
stroyed. 

"  Fallen  is  the  mighty  city !  fallen,  fallen  ! 
Fallen  is  great  Nineveh, — the  city  of  old, — 
The  mighty  city,  queen  of  all  the  earth ! 
The  day  of  her  exulting  is  gone  by  ! 
Her  throne  is  in  the  dust !  her  sceptre  broke ! 
Her  walls  are  gone  !  her  palaces  dissolved! 
The  desert  is  around  her,  and  within. — 
Like  shadows  has  the  mighty  passed  away ! 
And  scarce  remains  a  solitary  stone 
To  say,  *  Here  stood  imperial  Nineveh !' " 

Atherstone. 

Her  "nobles  dwell  in  the  dust,"  and  the 
busy  crowds  who  once  thronged  her  streets  are 
nowhere  to  be  found.  Her  magnificent  walls, 
her  lofty  towers,  her  gorgeous  temples,  and 
her  splendid  palaces,  which,  from  the  massive- 
ness  of  their  structure,  seemed  to  claim  com- 

*  "  From  some  of  these  mounds,  large  stones,  frequently 
with  bitumen  adhering  to  them,  are  dug  out.  In  gene- 
ral, I  think  there  were  but  very  few  bricks  used  in  the 
building  of  Nineveh." — Rich,  The  ruins  of  Babylon,  on 
the  contrary,  are  composed  entirely  of  bricks. 


244  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

panionship  with  eternity,  have  passed  away, 
leaving  so  little  trace  of  their  existence,  that  on 
the  spot  where  they  once  stood, 

"  The  distant  traveller,  wearied  with  long  search, 
Leans  on  his  staff,  and  wonders  where  had  been 
The  city  of  old  Ninus." 

"  This  is  the  rejoicing  city  that  dwelt  care- 
lessly, that  said  in  her  heart,  *  I  am,  and  there 
is  none  beside  me.'  How  is  she  become  a 
desolation,  a  place  for  beasts  to  lie  down  in ! 
Every  one  that  passeth  by  her  shall  hiss,  and 
wag  his  hand, '  Zeph,  ii,  15. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  245 

CHAPTER  IX. 

PROPHECIES  CONCERNING  BABYLON. 

Antiquity  of  Babylon — ^Description  of  Babylonia— Its  fertility- 
Its  natural  advantages — Commerce  of  Babylon — Its  manufac- 
tures— Early  history — Prosperity  under  Nebuchadnezzar — De- 
scription of  the  ancient  city — Palace,  hanging-gardens,  and 
temple  of  Belus— Prophecies  concerning  it — It  is  besieged,  as 
was  foretold,  by  Cyrus — His  army  composed  of  "  many  nations 
from  the  north  country" — The  city  is  taken  by  stratagem  during 
the  time  of  a  feast— Various  prophecies  fulfilled  in  the  circum- 
stances of  its  capture — It  is  taken  a  second  time,  by  Darius,  who 
breaks  down  its  walls — Its  temples  plundered  and  demolished  by 
Xerxes— Alexander  proposes  to  restore  Babylon,  but  is  cut  off  by 
death— It  becomes  desolate  and  forsaken — Its  walls  are  utterly 
destroyed — Its  ruins,  deserted  by  man,  are  tenanted  by  wild 
beasts— Its  site  uncultivated — The  land  of  Chaldea  now  mostly 
a  barren  waste — Babylon  become  "  a  desolation  and  an  astonish- 
ment"— Description  of  its  principal  ruins — The  Amram  HiU — The 
Kasr— The  Mujehbe— The  Birs  Nimrood— Reflections. 

After  the  fall  of  Nineveh,  Babylon  suc- 
ceeded to  the  empire  of  the  East,  and  be- 
came the  metropolis  of  the  second  Assyrian 
kingdom. 

In  point  of  antiquity,  Babylon  was  superior 
to  Nineveh.  Its  foundation  must  be  carried 
back  to  the  period  (supposed  to  have  been 
about  two  hundred  years  after  the  flood)  when 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  probably  under  the 
conduct  of  Nimrod,  (Gen.  x,  10,)  "journeyed 
from  the  east  to  a  plain  in  the  land  of  Shinar,'* 


246  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

and  there  commenced  the  erection  of  the  oldest 
city  of  which  history  has  preserved  any  re- 
cord. Gen.  xi,  4-9 :  "  And  they  said,  *  Go  to, 
let  us  build  us  a  city,  and  a  tower  whose  top 
may  reach  unto  heaven  ;  and  let  us  make  us  a 
name,  lest  we  be  scattered  abroad  upon  the 
face  of  the  whole  earth.'  And  the  Lord  came 
down  to  see  the  city  and  the  tower,  which  the 
children  of  men  builded.  And  the  Lord  said, 
*  Behold,  the  people  is  one,  and  they  have  all 
one  language  ;  and  this  they  begin  to  do :  and 
now  nothing  will  be  restrained  from  them, 
which  they  have  imagined  to  do.  Go  to,  let  us 
go  down,  and  there  confound  their  language, 
that  they  may  not  understand  one  another's 
speech.'  So  the  Lord  scattered  them  abroad 
from  thence  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth :  and 
they  left  off  to  build  the  city.  Therefore  is  the 
name  of  it  called  Babel,"  which  signifies  "con- 
fusion i"  and  hence  its  future  name,  Babel  On, 
that  is,  «  The  city  of  Babel." 

The  land  of  Babylonia  or  Chaldea,  of  which 
Babylon  was  the  capital,  was  situated  between 
the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris,  the  former 
bounding  it  on  the  west,  the  latter  on  the  east. 
The  country  enclosed  by  these  two  rivers  was 
one  vast,  uninterrupted  level,  indebted  to  them 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  247 

for  its  fertility.*  It  was  everywhere  inter- 
sected by  canals  of  various  sizes ;  some,  run- 
ning across  the  country  from  one  river  to  the 
other,  answered  the  double  purpose  of  a  com- 
munication between  them,  and  of  irrigating  the 
soil ;  while  others  were  formed  solely  for  the 
latter  object.  On  the  banks  of  these  canals 
were  innumerable  machines  for  raising  the 
water,  and  spreading  it  over  the  soil.  This 
constant  irrigation  was  rendered  necessary  by 
fhe  heat,  and  almost  constant  dryness  of  the 
climate,  as  it  seldom  rains  in  that  country. 
The  fertility  of  this  region  was  almost  without 
parallel.  The  labours  of  the  husbandman 
were  rewarded  with  such  a  luxuriant  crop, 
that  Herodotus,  fearful  of  being  suspected  of 
exaggeration,  hesitated  to  state  the  full  truth. 
He  says, — "  Of  all  the  countries  that  I  have 
visited,  this  is  by  far  the  most  fruitful  in  corn. 
The  soil  is  so  well  adapted  to  its  growth,  that 
it  commonly  yields  two  hundred  fold,  and  in 
seasons  remarkably   favourable   it  sometimes 

*  Ther  importance  of  these  rivers  to  the  Babylonians, 
and  the  value  of  their  waters  in  irrigating  the  land,  is 
thus  spoken  of  in  Ezekiel  xxxi,  4 :  '*  The  waters  made 
him  great,  the  deep  set  him  up  on  high  with  her  rivers 
running  round  about  his  plants,  and  sent  out  her  little 
rivers  to  all  the  trees  of  the  field." 


248     ,  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

amounts  to  three  hundred.  The  leaves  both 
of  the  wheat  and  th«  barley  in  this  region  are 
four  fingers  broad.  But  the  immense  height 
to  which  the  millet  and  sesame  [Indian  corn] 
stalks  grow,  although  I  have  witnessed  it  my- 
self, I  dare  not  mention,  lest  those  who  have 
not  travelled  in  this  region  should  disbelieve 
my  report."  This  fertility  with  respect  to  corn 
was  however  somewhat  counterbalanced  by  a 
dearth  of  timber.  The  fig  tree,  the  olive,  and 
the  vine  were  not  found  there  at  all ;  and  the 
want  of  them  was  but  indifferently  supplied 
by  an  abundance  of  date  or  palm  trees,  with 
which  Babylonia  was  completely  covered,  and 
which  still  grow  in  large  quantities  on  the 
banks  of  the  Euphrates.  Of  all  other  large 
trees  Babylonia  was  entirely  destitute. 

Like  most  level  countries.  Babylonia  was  as 
destitute  of  stone  as  of  wood.  The  want  of 
these  important  building  materials  was,  how- 
ever, compensated  by  an  inexhaustible  sup- 
ply of  superior  clay,  which,  when  dried  in  the 
sun  or  burned  in  the  fire,  furnished  bricks  so 
durable,  that  the  remains  of  ancient  buildings, 
which  have  been  thrown  down  for  centuries, 
have  withstood  the  effects  of  the  atmosphere 
to  the  present  day. 

The  natural  advantages  of  this  region,  both 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  249 

in  a  political  and  commercial  point  of  view, 
were  very  great.  A  single  glance  at  the  map 
of  Asia  is  sufficient  to  show  that  somewhere  in 
the  vicinity  of  Babylon  is  the  natural  seat  of  em- 
pire in  the  East ;  and  that  few  places  were  more 
eligibly  situated  for  a  vast  trade,  as  it  was  con- 
ducted before  the  discovery  of  a  passage  to 
India  by  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
Amid  all  the  changes  of  the  Eastern  world, 
empire  and  commerce  seem  to  have  been 
ever  disposed  to  take  up  their  abode  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates.  Notwith- 
standing the  numerous  revolutions  it  under- 
went, and  the  devastations  of  the  barbarous 
conquerors  who  invaded  it,  this  region  pre- 
sented an  astonishing  succession  of  flourish- 
ing cities,  which,  like  the  phcenix,  seemed  to 
arise  from  the  ashes  and  ruins  of  their  own  de- 
struction. Thus  in  the  earliest  periods  of  his- 
tory we  find  Nineveh  on  the  Tigris,  and  Baby- 
lon on  the  Euphrates,  mighty  and  magnificent 
commercial  cities,  and  the  proud  capitals  of 
vast  empires.  When  these  fell,  Seleucia  arose 
on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris,  as  if  prosperity  and 
power  were  unwilling  to  forsake  the  fertile 
plains  watered  by  these  rivers.  Ere  Seleucia 
fell,  it  was  eclipsed  by  Ctesiphon,  the  capital  of 
the  Parthian  empire.     When  both  these  were 


250  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

destroyed  by  the  conquering  Saracens,  the 
royal  cities  of  Bagdad  and  Ormus  arose  in  their 
place,  and  became  like  them  the  home  of  the 
learned  and  the  resort  of  the  merchant ;  and 
the  last  glimmer,  as  it  were,  of  the  ancient 
splendour  of  Babylon  seems  still  to  hover  over 
the  half-ruined  Bussora.* 

The  fact  that  there  was  in  this  region  such 
a  succession  of  celebrated  cities,  demonstrates 
that  it  possessed  some  important  commercial 
advantages.  "  Nature  herself  seems  to  have 
formed  it  for  the  great  seat  of  the  international 
commerce  of  Asia.  Situated  between  the  In- 
dus and  the  Mediterranean,  it  was  the  natural 
staple  of  such  precious  wares  of  the  East  as 
were  esteemed  in  the  West.  Its  proximity 
to  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  great  highway  of 
trade,  which  nature  seems  to  have  prepared  for 
the  admission  of  the  sea-faring  nations  of  the 
Indian  seas  into  the  midst  of  Asia,  must  be 
reckoned  as  another  advantage,  especially 
when  taken  in  connection  with  its  vicinity  to 
the  two  great  rivers,  the  continuation,  as  it 
were,  of  this  highway,  and  opening  a  commu- 
nication with  the  nations  dwelling  on  the  Eux- 
ine  and  Caspian  Seas.  Thus  favoured  by 
nature,  this  country  necessarily  became  the 
*  Heeren's  Researches — Barnes  on  Isaiah. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  251 

central  point,  where  the  merchants  of  nearly  all 
the  nations  of  the  civilized  world  assembled ;  and 
such,  we  are  informed  by  history,  it  remained, 
so  long  as  the  international  commerce  of  Asia 
flourished.  Neither  the  devastating  sword  of 
conquering  nations,  nor  the  heavy  yoke  of 
Asiatic  despotism,  could  tarnish,  though  for  a 
while  they  might  dim  its  splendour.  It  was 
only  when  Europeans  found  a  new  path  to  In- 
dia, across  the  ocean,  and  converted  the  great 
commerce  of  the  world  from  a  land  trade  to  a 
sea  trade,  that  the  royal  city  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  began  to  decline." — 
Heeren. 

From  the  foregoing  particulars  it  will  at  once 
be  seen  that  Babylon  owed  its  greatness  not 
less  to  its  commercial  advantages  than  to  its 
conquests,  and  its  being  the  capital  of  a  vast 
empire.  From  both  sacred  and  profane  his- 
tory we  learn  that  it  was  early  distinguished 
for  its  commerce  and  manufactures.  In  Eze- 
kiel  xvii,  4,  it  is  called  "  a  land  of  traffic, — a 
city  of  merchants."  The  merchandise  of  the 
East,  we  are  told  by  Strabo  and  Herodotus, 
passed  through  Babylon,  and  thence  to  Asia 
Minor.  The  merchants  of  Babylon  were  in 
communication  with  the  surrounding  countries, 
partly  by  caravans  over  land,  and  partly  by  sea 


252  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY, 

through  the  Persian  Gulf.  Their  possession  of 
a  maritime  commerce  may  be  inferred  from 
that  passage  in  Isaiah  (xliii,  14)  where  the 
Chaldeans  are  spoken  of  as  a  people  "whose 
cry  [or  exultation]  is  in  their  ships."  "  The 
accounts  of  ancient  writers  also  concur  in  re- 
presenting Babylon  as  a  city  which  received 
the  merchandise  of  the  south — Arabian  and  In- 
dian productions — by  means  of  the  Persian 
Gulf." — Heeren.  The  principal  articles  which 
they  imported  from  these  countries  were  gold 
and  silver,  precious  stones,  pearls,  dyes,  cin- 
namon, and  other  spicery,  wood  for  building 
ships,  and  cotton. 

The  productions  of  their  own  skill  and  in- 
dustry also  formed  a  considerable  item  in  the 
commerce  of  the  Babylonians.  "  Carpets,  one 
of  the  principal  articles  of  luxury  in  the  East, 
were  nowhere  so  finely  woven,  and  in  such 
splendid  colours,  as  at  Babylon.  Foreign  na- 
tions made  use  of  these  carpets  in  the  decora- 
tion of  their  harems  and  royal  saloons.  Among 
the  Persians,  not  only  the  floors,  but  even  the 
beds  and  sofas  in  the  houses  of  the  nobles  were 
covered  with  these  carpets.  Babylonish  gar- 
ments were  not  less  esteemed.  Josh,  vii,  21. 
It  appears  that  they  were  usually  of  cotton, 
and  the  most  costly  were  so  highly  valued  for 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  253 

their  brilliancy  of  colour,  and  fineness  of  tex- 
ture, as  to  be  compared  to  those  of  Media,  and 
set  apart  for  royal  use.  The  superiority  of 
Babylonish  robes  and  carpets  will  not  be  a 
matter  of  surprise,  when  we  consider  how 
near  Babylon  was  to  Caramania  on  the  one 
side,  and  to  Arabia  and  Syria  on  the  other,  and 
that  in  these  countries  the  finest  wool  and  cot- 
ton were  produced." — Heeren, 

The  early  history  of  Babylon  is,  like  that  of 
Nineveh,  involved  in  considerable  obscurity. 
In  the  accounts  of  its  rise  and  growth,  as  given 
by  heathen  writers,  the  facts  of  its  history  are 
so  mixed  up  with  fabulous  legends,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  separate  the  one  from  the  other ; 
and  the  sacred  writers,  after  giving  an  account 
of  its  origin,  in  Genesis  x  and  xi,  make  no  fur- 
ther mention  of  it  until  the  time  of  Hezekiah, 
when,  as  we  are  informed  in  2  Kings  xx,  12, 
"  Berodach-baladan,  the  son  of  Baladan,  king 
of  Babylon,  sent  letters  and  a  present  to  Heze- 
kiah: for  he  had  heard  that  Hezekiah  had 
been  sick."  Previous  to  this,  Babylon,  though 
a  rich  and  powerful,  was  not  an  independent, 
city.  Babylonia  was  a  province  of  the  great 
Assyrian  empire,  and  the  predecessors  of  Be- 
rodach-baladan were  merely  prefects  or  vice- 


254  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

roys  of  the  kings  of  Nineveh.  But  about  this 
time,  the  governors  of  Babylon  and  Media, 
probably  taking  advantage  of  a  reverse  of  for- 
tune which  had  befallen  Sennacherib,  the  As- 
syrian monarch,  (2  Kings  xix,  35,  36,)  had 
asserted  their  independence,  and  were  now  in  a 
state  of  rebellion.  "  Berodach  had,  therefore, 
the  same  political  interests  as  Hezekiah,  in  op- 
position to  the  king  of  Assyria ;  and  it  is  not 
improbable  that  the.  embassy  which  he  sent 
professedly  to  congratulate  Hezekiah  on  his  re- 
covery from  his  sickness,  had  for  its  real  object 
the  bringing  of  the  king  of  Judah  into  an  alli- 
ance against  the  common  enemy."* 

The  Babylonians  were,  however,  again  re- 
duced to  subjection  by  Esarhaddon,  the  son  of 
Sennacherib  ;  but  they  soon  after  revolted  a 
second  time,  and  with  better  success  ;  for  they 
not  only  succeeded  in  effecting  their  independ- 
ence, but,  from  being  the  vassals,  they  soon  be- 
came the  rivals,  and  at  length,  in  conjunction 
with  the  Medes,  the  destroyers  of  Nineveh. 

The  most  brilliant  epoch  in  the  history  of 
Babylon  was  the  period  during  which  Nebu- 
chadnezzar filled  the  throne  of  the  kingdom. 
This  mighty  monarch,  having  subdued  nearly 
all  the  surrounding  countries,  turned  his  atten- 
*  Pictorial  Bible. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  255 

tion  to  the  aggrandizement  of  his  metropolis, 
employing  his  vast  resources  in  its  extension 
and  embellishment.  It  was  during  his  long 
and  prosperous  reign,  which  lasted  from  the 
year  605  to  562  B.  C,  that  Babylon  acquired 
that  extent  and  magnificence,  and  those  stupen- 
dous works  were  completed,  which  rendered 
it  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  the  ancient 
world.  This  we  learn  from  Daniel  iv,  30,  and 
also  from  Berosus,  a  Chaldean  historian,  who, 
in  a  fragment  of  his  works  preserved  by  Jose- 
phus,*  says, — "  Nabuchodonosor  adorned  the 
temple  of  Belus,  and  the  other  temples,  after  an 
elegant  manner,  out  of  the  spoils  he  had  taken 
in  war.  He  also  rebuilt  the  old  city,  and  add- 
ed another  to  it  on  the  outside,  and  so  far  re- 
stored Babylon,  that  none  who  should  besiege  it 
afterward  might  have  it  in  their  power  to  divert 
the  river,  so  as  to  facilitate  an  entrance  into  it ; 
and  this  he  did  by  building  three  walls  about 
the  inner  city,  and  three  about  the  outer.  Some 
of  these  walls  he  built  of  burned  brick  and  bi- 
tumen, and  some  of  brick  only.  So  when  he 
had  thus  fortified  the  city  with  walls,  and  had 
adorned  the  gates  magnificently,  he  added  a 
new  palace  to  that  which  his  father  had  dwelt 
in,  and  that  more  eminent  in  its  height,  and  in 
*  Against  Apion,  book  i,  sec.  19. 


256  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

its  great  splendour.  Now  in  this  palace  he 
erected  very  high  walks,  supported  by  stone 
pillars,  and  by  planting  what  was  called  a  pen- 
sile paradise,  and  replenishing  it  with  all  sorts 
of  trees,  he  rendered  the  prospect  an  exact  re- 
semblance of  a  mountainous  country." 

It  would  occupy  too  much  room  to  insert  at 
length  the  descriptions  of  Babylon  given  by 
ancient  writers ;  we  must  therefore  limit  our- 
selves to  the  following  brief  particulars. 

Babylon  was  built  in  the  form  of  a  square^ 
having  four  equal  sides  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  stadia,  or  twelve  miles  each.  It  stood 
on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  which  ran 
through  its  midst,  dividing  it  into  two  parts,  of 
which  that  on  the  western  side  was  the  older, 
but  that  on  the  eastern  the  more  magnificent. 

The  city  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  forty- 
eight  miles  in  circumference,  and,  according  to 
Herodotus,  eighty-seven  feet  in  thickness,  and 
three  hundred  and  fifty  high.*  It  was  further 
defended  by  a  wide  and  deep  moat  or  ditch, 

*  The  prophet  Jeremiah,  in  the  following  passages,  al- 
ludes to  the  extraordinary  dimensions  of  the  wall  of  Baby- 
lon : — "  Though  Babylon  should  mount  up  to  heaven,  and 
though  she  should  fortify  the  height  of  her  strength,"  &c. 
— "  The  broad  walls  of  Babylon  shall  be  utterly  broken," 
Jer.  li,  53,  58. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  257 

lined  with  brickwork,  and  filled  with  water, 
which  went  entirely  around  the  city ;  some  idea 
of  its  capacity  may  be  formed  from  the  fact  that 
the  earth  dug  out  of  it  furnished  the  bricks 
with  which  the  wall  was  built.  In  the  walls 
were  one  hundred  gates,  twenty-five  on  each 
side,  which  were  all  made  of  solid  brass,  and 
of  prodigious  size  and  strength.  Between 
every  two  of  these  gates  were  three  towers  ten 
feet  higher  than  the  walls,  and  four  more  at  the 
angles  of  the  wall,  and  three  more  between 
each  of  these  angles  and  the  next  gate  on  either 
side.  These  towers,  however,  were  built  only 
on  three  sides  of  the  city,  being  omitted  on  one 
side  where  the  morasses  rendered  the  protec- 
tion which  they  ofiered  unnecessary.  From 
the  twenty-five  gates  on  each  side  of  the  city, 
were  twenty-five  streets  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  in  width,  extending  in  straight  lines  to  the 
corresponding  gates  on  the  opposite  side,  and 
dividing  the  city  into  six  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  squares,  each  of  which  was  nearly  two 
miles  in  circumference.  Round  these  squares, 
facing  the  streets,  stood  the  houses,  all  of 
which  were  three  or  four  stories  high.  The 
ground  in  the  interior  of  the  squares  was  not 
built  upon,  but  laid  out  in  fields,  gardens,  and 
pleasure  grour.ds. 

17 


258  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

That  part  of  the  river  which  ran  through  the 
city  was  faced  with  brick,  and  on  each  of  its 
banks  was  a  brick  wall  corresponding  in  height 
with  that  on  the  outside  of  the  city.  In  each 
of  these  walls  were  twenty-five  brazen  gates, 
from  which  were  steps  leading  down  from  the 
streets  to  the  river,  for  the  convenience  of  the 
inhabitants  who  passed  and  repassed  in  boats 
from  one  side  of  the  city  to  the  other.  These 
gates  were  always  open  during  the  day,  but 
closed  at  night.  The  communication  between 
the  two  divisions  of  the  city  was  further  assist- 
ed by  a  bridge,  thirty  feet  in  width,  which 
crossed  the  river  near  the  centre. 

The  most  remarkable  structures  within  the 
city  were  the  palace,  the  hanging-gardens,  and 
the  temple. 

The  palace,  built  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  stood 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  river.  With  its 
parks  and  gardens  it  occupied  an  area  of  four 
and  a  half  square  miles,  which  was  enclosed 
by  a  triple  wall.  Within  this  enclosure,  and 
connected  with  the  palace,  were  the  cele- 
brated hanging-gardens.  These  embraced  a 
square  of  four  hundred  feet  on  each  side,  (about 
three  acres  and  a  half,)  and  consisted  of  ter 
races  supported  by  walls  and  piers,  and  rising 
one  above  another,  till  the  highest  was  on  a 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  259 

level  with  the  summit  of  the  walls.  The  as- 
cent from  terrace  to  terrace  was  by  steps  ten 
feet  wide.  These  terraces  were  covered  with 
earth,  and  planted  with  various  flowers,  shrubs, 
and  trees ;  the  soil  being  deep  enough  to  give 
root  even  to  large  trees.  Upon  the  uppermost 
of  these  terraces  was  a  reservoir,  supplied  with 
water  from  the  river,  by  means  of  an  engine ; 
and  from  this  reservoir  the  gardens  on  the 
other  terraces  were  irrigated  as  occasion  re- 
quired. This  novel  and  extraordinary  fabric 
was  constructed  by  Nebuchadnezzar  to  gra- 
tify his  wife,  who  was  a  native  of  Media,  with 
something  like  a  resemblance  to  the  hills  and 
woods  of  her  native  country.  Its  summit  com- 
manded an  extensive  prospect  of  the  wide 
plain  of  Shinar,  and  all  the  splendid  monu- 
ments of  the  mighty  city ;  and  it  was  probably 
from  one  of  its  lofty  terraces  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, filled  with  pride  and  arrogance,  was 
surveying  the  wonders  of  his  "  golden  city," 
exclaiming,  "  Is  not  this  great  Babylon  that  / 
have  built  for  the  house  of  the  kingdom  by  the 
might  of  my  power,  and  for  the  honour  of  my 
majesty?"  when  suddenly  the  boastful  monarch, 
because  he  gave  not  God  the  glory,  was  re- 
duced to  the  abject  condition  of  a  beast  of 
the   field,  until  he  learned   "  that  the  Most 


260  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and  giveth 
it  to  whomsoever  he  will."  Daniel  iv,  29-37. 

But  the  great  wonder  of  Babylon  was  the 
celebrated  temple  of  Belus,  the  god  of  the  Ba- 
bylonians. It  consisted  of  an  enclosure  up 
ward  of  one  thousand  feet  square,  and  was 
surrounded  by  a  wall  adorned  with  seve- 
ral gates  of  brass.  In  this  area  were  se- 
veral sacred  buildings ;  but  the  most  remark- 
able was  a  prodigious  tower  which  stood  in  the 
centre.  It  was  built  in  a  pyramidal  form,  con- 
sisting of  a  succession  of  towers  rising  one 
above  another,  and  gradually  diminishing  in 
size,  till  the  whole  had  numbered  eight.  The 
base,  or  lower  tower,  was  more  than  five  hun- 
dred feet  square,  and  the  height  of  the  whole 
was  also  upward  of  five  hundred  feet.  It  was 
one  of  the  most  stupendous  edifices  ever  erected 
by  man,  exceeding  in  height,  though  smaller  at 
the  base,  the  highest  of  the  Egyptian  pyramids : 

"  Above  the  walls  high  soaring  it  arose, 
And  seem'd  to  prop  the  sky." 

The  ascent  to  the  top  was  by  a  path  formed 
on  the  outside  of  the  towers,  and  in  the  middle 
of  the  ascent  was  a  resting-place  provided  with 
seats.  On  the  summit  of  the  highest  tower  was 
a  magnificent  temple,  expressly  sacred  to  Be- 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  261 

lus,  furnished  with  a  splendid  couch,  near 
which  was  a  table  of  gold ;  but  there  was  no 
statue,  the  god  being  supposed  to  inhabit  it  at 
will.* 

The  riches  and  splendour  of  this  temple 
were  immense.  When  it  was  plundered  by 
Xerxes,  the  value  of  the  golden  images  and 
sacred  utensils  which  he  took  from  it  is  said 
by  Diodorus  to  have  amounted  to  six  thousand 
and  thirty  Babylonish  talents,  equal  to  one  hun- 
dred millions  of  dollars.  It  was  in  this  tem- 
ple that  Nebuchadnezzar  deposited  the  golden 
vessels  which  he  took  from  the  house  of  the 
Lord  at  Jerusalem,  and  which  were  after- 
ward restored  to  the  Jews,  on  their  return 
from  the  captivity.  2  Chron.  xxxvi,  7 ;  Ezra  v, 
13,  16. 

This  celebrated  tower  is  not  supposed  to 
have  been  entirely  the  work  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. The  general  opinion,  which  we  see 
no  reason  to  doubt,  is,  that  the  remains  of  the 
original  tower  of  Babel  formed  the  nucleus  or 
body  of  it.  It  is  probable  that  this  unfinished 
edifice  being  too  massive  to  be  easily  removed, 
Nebuchadnezzar  took  the  idea  of  rendering 
this  ruin  the  principal  ornament  of  the  city 
which  it  was  his  pride  to  embellish.  What- 
*  Herodotus. 


262  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

ever  additions  he  made  to  it,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  its  original  shape  was  preserved ;  for  not 
only  would  it  have  taken  immense  labour  and 
expense  to  alter  it,  but  the  pyramidal  form  of 
the  temple  of  Belus,  as  we  have  described  it 
from  the  accounts  of  ancient  writers,  "  is  one 
which  would  hardly  have  been  thought  of  in 
such  comparatively  late  times  as  those  of  Ne- 
buchadnezzar, being  in  its  simplicity  and  pro- 
portions characteristic  not  only  of  very  ancient, 
but  of  the  most  ancient  constructed  masses 
which  have  been  known  to  exist  upon  earth."* 

Of  the  other  public  works  of  the  Babyloni- 
ans, the  most  remarkable,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  most  useful,  were  the  numerous  large 
canals,  and  an  immense  artificial  lake  of  almost 
incredible  dimensions,  which  were  excavated 
for  the  purpose  of  drawing  off  the  waters  of 
the  Euphrates,  when  flooded  by  the  melting  of 
the  snows  on  the  mountains  of  Armenia.  "  Into 
this  prodigious  basin,  the  overflowings  of  the 
rivers  were  directed  by  the  channel  of  the  ca- 
nals, during  the  summer  months  of  the  year ; 
and  the  waters  received  there  were  suflfered  to 
flow  out,  as  occasion  required,  for  the  purpose 
of  irrigating  the  surrounding  country." 

"  Of  the  number  of  inhabitants  which  Baby- 
*  Pictorial  Bible. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  263 

Ion  contained,  ancient  writers  have  left  us  no 
account ;  and,  as  we  observed  in  our  account 
of  Nineveh,  the  population  of  ancient  cities  is 
not  to  be  estimated  by  the  extent  of  ground 
which  they  occupy.  The  houses  usually  stand 
so  much  apart,  and  every  respectable  house 
is  built  with  such  large  open  courts,  and  there 
are  often  so  many  gardens  and  plantations,  that 
Asiatic  towns  do  not  generally  contain  any  thing 
near  so  large  a  population  as  towns  of  similar 
extent  with  us.  How  well  these  remarks  will 
apply  to  Babylon,  will  "be  seen  from  the  express 
testimony  of  an  ancient  writer.  "  The  build- 
ings," says  Quintus  Cintius,  "  do  not  reach  to  the 
walls,  but  are  at  the  distance  of  an  acre  from 
them.  Neither  is  the  whole  city  covered  with 
houses,  but  only  ninety  stadia ;  nor  do  the  houses 
stand  in  rows  by  each  other,  but  the  intervals 
which  separate  them  are  sown  and  cultivated, 
that  they  may  furnish  subsistence  in  case  of 
siege."  Indeed,  Babylon  might  rather  be  con- 
sidered as  a  kind  of  walled  province  than  a 
city,  in  the  modem  acceptation  of  the  term. 

The  foregoing  particulars  will,  it  is  hoped, 
have  assisted  the  reader  in  forming  some  faint 
idea  of  the  magnitude  and  magnificence  of  that 
mighty  city,  which  was  "  the  beauty  of  the 
Chaldees'  excellency,"  and  the  wonder  of  the 


264  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

ancient  world ;  in  whose  courts  and  palaces 
Daniel,  instructed  by  prophetic  vision,  unrolled 
the  volume  of  futurity,  and  read  the  history  of 
time  to  the  consummation  of  all  things ;  whose 
streets  were  so  often  traversed  by  the  exiles 
of  Zion,  when  "the  Lord  in  his  anger  cast 
down  from  heaven  unto  the  earth  the  beauty 
of  Israel ;"  and  whose  glory,  pride,  and  deso- 
lation are  depicted  by  the  Jewish  prophets  in 
some  of  the  sublimest  strains  of  Hebrew  po- 
etry. 

The  prophecies  respecting  Babylon  are  con- 
tained in  the  books  of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah. 
They  extend  through  several  chapters,  but  the 
following  passages  will  be  found  to  embrace 
their  substance.  In  the  extracts  from  Isaiah 
we  have  followed  Bishop  Lowth's  translation  : 

"  The  oracle  concerning  Babylon,  which  was  re- 
vealed TO  Isaiah  the  son  op  Amoz. 

A  sound  of  a  multitude  in  the  mountains,  as  of  a  great 

people ; 
A  sound  of  the  tumult  of  kingdoms,  of  nations  gathered 

together ! 
Jehovah,  God  of  hosts,  mustereth  the  host  for  the  battle. 
Behold,  the  day  of  Jehovah  cometh,  inexorable ; 
Even  indignation,  and  burning  wrath : 
To  make  the  land  a  desolation  ; 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 


265 


And  her  sinners  he  shall  destroy  out  of  her. 

Behold,  I  raise  up  against  them  the  Medes ; 

Who  shall  hold  silver  of  no  account ; 

And  as  for  gold,  they  shall  not  delight  in  it. 

Their  bows  shall  dash  the  young  men ; 

And  on  the  fruit  of  the  womb  they  shall  have  no  mercy ; 

Their  eye  shall  have  no  pity,  even  on  the  children. 

And  Babylon  shall  become,  she  that  was  the  beauty  of 

kingdoms. 
The  glory  of  the  pride  of  the  Chaldees, 
As  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  by  the  hand 

of  God. 
It  shall  not  be  inhabited  for  ever ; 
Neither  shall  it  be  dwelt  in  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion : 
Neither  shall  the  Arabian  pitch  his  tent  there  ; 
Neither  shall  the  shepherds  make  their  fold  there. 
But  there  shall  the  wild  beasts  of  the  desert  lodge  ; 
A.nd  howling  monsters  shall  fill  their  houses  : 
And  there  shall  the  daughters  of  the  ostrich  dwell ; 
And  there  shall  the  satyrs  hold  their  revels. 
And  wolves  shall  howl  to  one  another  in  their  palaces ; 
And  dragons  in  their  voluptuous  pavilions.'* 

IsA.  xiii,  3,  4,  9,  17-22. 
"  For  I  will  rise  up  against  them,  saith  Jehovah,  God  of 

hosts : 
And  I  will  cut  off  from  Babylon  the  name  and  the 

remnant ; 
And  the  son,  and  the  son's  son,  saith  Jehovah. 
And  I  will  make  it  an  inheritance  for  the  porcupine, 

and  pools  of  water  ; 
And  I  will  plunge  it  in  the  miry  gulf  of  destruction,  saith 

Jehovah,  God  of  hosts."  Isi..  xiv,  22,  23. 


266  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

**  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  who  establisheth  the  word  of  his 
servant ; 
And  accomplisheth  the  counsel  of  his  messengers : 
Who  sayeth  to  the  deep,  '  Be  thou  wasted ; 
And  I  will  make  dry  thy  rivers  :' 
Who  sayeth  unto  Cyrus,  *  Thou  art  my  shepherd !' 
And  he  shall  fulfil  all  my  pleasure  ! 
Thus  saith  Jehovah  to  his  anointed : 
To  Cyrus,  whom  I  hold  fast  by  the  right  hand : 
That  I  may  subdue  nations  before  him ; 
And  ungird  the  loins  of  kings : 
That  I  may  open  before  him  the  valves ; 
And  the  gates  shall  not  be  shut. 
I  will  go  before  thee  ; 
And  make  the  mountains  level : 
The  valves  of  brass  I  will  break  in  sunder, 
And  the  bars  of  iron  will  I  hew  down. 
And  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  treasures  of  darkness  • 
And  the  stores  deep  hidden  in  secret  places.'  " 

IsA.  xliv,  26-28 :  xlv,  1-3. 

In  the  following  passage,  the  prophet  pro- 
ceeds to  assign  the  reasons  why  the  judgments 
of  God  were  denounced  against  the  Babyloni- 
ans, viz.,  their  self-sufficiency  and  pride,  and 
the  severity  which  they  exercised  towards  the 
captive  Israelites  : — 

"  I  was  angry  with  my  people  ;  I  profaned  my  heritage ; 
And  I  gave  them  up  into  thy  hand  : 
Thou  didst  not  show  mercy  unto  them  ; 
Even  upon  the  aged  thou  didst  greatly  aggravate  the 
weight  of  thy  yoke. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  267 

And  thou  saidst,  '  I  shall  be  a  lady  for  ever :' 
Because  thou  didst  not  attentively  consider  these  things ; 
Thou  didst  not  think  on  what  in  the  end  was  to  befall 

thee. 
But  hear  thou  this,  0  thou  voluptuous,  that  sittest  in 

security ; 
Thou  sayest  in  thy  heart,  *  I  am,  and  there  is  none  else  ; 
I  shall  not  sit  as  a  widow ;  I  shall  not  know  the  loss  of 

children.' 
Yet  these  two  things  shall  come  upon  thee  in  a  moment ; 
In  one  day,  loss  of  children  and  widowhood : 
On  a  sudden  shall  they  come  upon  thee  ; 
Notwithstanding  the  multitude  of  thy  sorceries,  and  the 

great  strength  of  thine  enchantments. 
But  thou  didst  trust   in   thy  wickedness,   and  saidst, 

*  None  seeth  me :' 
Thy  wisdom  and  thy  knowledge  have   perverted  thy 

mind  ; 
So  that  thou  saidst  in  thy  heart,  '  I  am,  and  there  is 

none  besides.' 
Therefore  shall  evil  come  upon  thee,  which  thou  shalt 

not  know  how  to  deprecate  ; 
And  mischief  shall  fall  upon  thee,  which  thou  shalt  not 

be  able  to  expiate  ; 
And  trouble  shall  come  upon  thee  suddenly,  of  which 

thou  shalt  have  no  apprehension." 

Is  A.  xlvii,  6-11. 

About  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  after 
the  foregoing  prophecies  were  delivered,  the 
following  predictions  were  uttered  by  the  pro- 
phet Jeremiah: — 


268  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECr. 

"  The  word  that  the  Lord  spake  against  Babylon 

AND  AGAINST  THE  LAND  OP  THE  ChALDEES,  BY  JeRE- 
MIAH  the  PROPHET. 

Declare  ye  among  the  nations,  Babylon  is  taken, 

Bel  is  confounded, 

Merodach  is  broken  in  pieces. 

For,  lo,  I  will  cause  to  come  up  against  Babylon, 

An  assembly  of  great  nations  from  the  north  country : 

And  they  shall  set  themselves  in  array  against  her : 

For  she  hath  sinned  against  the  Lord. 

Take  vengeance  upon  her ; 

As  she  hath  done,  do  unto  her. 

Cut  off  the  sower  from  Babylon, 

And  him  that  handleth  the  sickle  in  the  time  of  harvest 

I  have  laid  a  snare  for  thee. 

And  thou  art  also  taken,  O  Babylon, 

And  thou  wast  not  aware. 

Cast  her  up  as  heaps,  and  destroy  her  utterly  : 

Let  nothing  of  her  be  left. 

The  wild  beasts  of  the  desert,  with  the  wild  beasts  of 
the  islands,  shall  dwell  there. 

And  the  owls  shall  dwell  therein  : 

And  it  shall  no  more  be  hihabited  for  ever ; 

Neither  shall  it  be  dwelt  in  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion. 

Behold,  a  great  people  shall  come  from  the  north,  and  a 
great  nation ; 

They  shall  hold  the  bow  and  the  lance  ; 

They  are  cruel,  and  will  not  show  mercy. 

How  is  the  hammer  of  the  whole  earth  cut  asunder  and 
broken ! 

How  is  Babylon  become  a  desolation  among  nations  l" 
Jer.  1.  1,  2,  9,  14,  15,  16,  24,  26,  39,  23. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  269 

**  0  thou  that  dwellest  upon  many  waters,*  abundant  in 

treasures, 
Thine  end  is  come,  and  the  measure  of  thy  covetous- 

ness. 
Behold,  I  am  against  thee,  0  destroying  mountain ; 
And  I  will  stretch  out  my  hand  upon  thee, 
And  roll  thee  down  from  the  rocks, 
And  will  make  thee  a  burnt  mountain. 
Set  ye  up  a  standard  in  the  land, 
Blow  the  trumpet  among  the  nations, 
Call    together   against   her  the  kingdoms  of  Ararat, 

Minni,  and  Ashchenaz ; 
Prepare  against  her  the  nations  with  the  kings  of  the 

Medes. 
And  the  land  shall  tremble  and  sorrow : 
For  every  purpose  of  the  Lord  shall  be  performed  against 

Babylon, 
To  make  the  land  of  Babylon  a  desolation, 
Without  an  inhabitant. 

The  mighty  men  of  Babylon  have  forborne  to  fight. 
They  have  remained  in  their  holds  : 
Their  might  hath  failed ; 
They  became  as  women. 
One  post  shall  run  to  meet  another. 
And  one  messenger  to  meet  another, 
To  show  the  king  of  Babylon  that  the  city  is  taken  at 

one  end. 
And  I  will  dry  up  her  sea, 

*  The  great  river  Euphrates,  the  neighbouring  lakes  and 
marshes,  with  the  numerous  canals  intersecting  the  coun- 
try around  Babylon,  give  a  peculiar  propriety  to  this  allu- 
sion to  its  "  many  waters." 


270  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

And  make  her  springs  dry. 
And  Babylon  shall  become  heaps, 
A  dwelling-place  for  dragons, 
An  astonishment  and  a  hissing, 
Without  an  inhabitant. 
In  their  heat  I  will  make  their  feasts. 
And  I  will  make  them  drunken,  that  they  may  rejoice, 
And  sleep  a  perpetual  sleep. 
And  not  wake,  saith  the  Lord. 

How  is  Babylon  become  an  astonishment  among  the  na- 
tions. 
Her  cities  are  a  desolation, 
A  dry  land,  and  a  wilderness, 
A  land  wherein  no  man  dwelleth. 
The  broad  walls  of  Babylon  shall  be  utterly  broken, 
And  her  high  gates  shall  be  burned  with  fire. 

"  So  Jeremiah  wrote  in  a  book  all  the  evil 
that  should  come  upon  Babylon.  And  Jere- 
miah said  to  Seraiah,  *  When  thou  comest  to 
Babylon,  and  shalt  see,  and  read  all  these 
words ;  then  shalt  thou  say,  O  Lord,  thou  hast 
spoken  against  this  place,  to  cut  it  off,  that  none 
shall  remain  in  it,  neither  man  nor  heast,  hut  that 
it  shall  he  desolate  for  ever.  And  when  thou 
hast  made  an  end  of  reading  this  book,  thou 
shalt  bind  a  stone  to  it,  and  cast  it  into  the 
midst  of  Euphrates  ;  and  thou  shalt  say,  Thus 
shall  Babylon  sink,  and  shall  not  rise  from  the 
evil  that  I  mil  bring  upon  her^  "  Jer.  li,  13,  &c 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  271 

At  the  time  when  these  prophecies  were 
written,  Babylon  was  not  a  dechning,  but  a 
growing  city.  Isaiah  prophesied  nearly  a  cen- 
tury before  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  when 
Babylon  was  just  rising  to  distinction,  every 
day  augmenting  its  resources  and  enlarging  its 
dominion ;  and  Jeremiah  uttered  his  predic- 
tions shortly  before  it  reached  the  utmost  point 
of  its  prosperity,  and  when  human  foresight 
would  rather  have  pronounced  its  increasing 
greatness  than  its  utter  ruin.  Indeed,  if  there 
was  ever  a  city  whose  strength  and  magnitude 
appeared  to  bid  defiance  to  the  attacks  of  ene- 
mies or  the  ra stages  of  time,  it  was  Babylon. 
Nothing  could  at  that  period  have  been  con- 
ceived more  improbable  than  that  a  city  of  such 
vast  extent,  massive  fortifications,  extensive 
commerce,  and  almost  boundless  dominion, 
should  ever  be  totally  abandoned,  and  reduced 
to  utter  desolation. 

But  the  broad  walls  and  brazen  gates  of  Ba- 
bylon could  not  preserve  it  from  that  righteous 
indignation  which  its  abounding  iniquities  had 
provoked.  In  the  midst  of  its  prosperity, 
"  perils  and  great  warnings  began  darkly  to 
environ  it."  Not  only  did  the  prophets  thunder 
the  judgment  of  God  against  it,  but  "  porten- 
tous dreams  also  visited  the  sleep  of  its  kings ; 


272  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

and  lastly,  a  supernatural  hand  wrote  charac- 
ters of  fire  and  wrath  upon  its  walls. — It 
was  at  this  period,  and  in  fulfilment  of  the 
prophecy,  that  Cyrus  broke  asunder  its  gates 
of  brass,  and  couched  himself  on  the  throne 
of  Assyria." 

Accounts  of  the  conquest  of  Babylon  are 
given  us  by  Herodotus  and  Xenophon,  two  of 
the  oldest  and  most  authentic  of  the  heathen  his- 
torians ;  and  their  narratives  confirm,  in  the  most 
conclusive  manner,  the  divine  authority  of  the 
Hebrew  prophets.  There  is  scarcely  a  parti- 
cular related  by  the  former  which  is  not  a 
striking  fulfilment  of  some  prediction  that  had 
been  uttered  by  the  latter. 

Cyrus,  who  was  the  conqueror  of  Babylon, 
and  the  deliverer  of  the  Jews,  was  expressly 
designated  as  such,  by  the  prophet  Isaiah,  more 
than  a  hundred  years  before  his  birth.  See  Isa. 
xliv,  27, 28,  and  xlv,  1-3,  where  he  is  honoured 
with  the  appellation  of  the  Lord's  "  anointed ;" 
and  the  Lord  is  said  to  have  '^holden  his  right 
hand^^  and  to  have  '-''girded  himP 

The  prophets  mentioned  by  name  not  only 
the  principal  individual,  but  also  the  nations  by 
whom  the  empire  of  Babylon  should  be  over- 
thrown.    "  The  Lord  hath  raised  up  the  spirit  of 


SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY.  273 

the  kings  of  the  Medes ;  for  his  device  is  against 
Babylon,  to  destroy  it^''  Jer.  li,  11.  "  Go  up,  O 
Elam;  besiege,  O  Media,^^  Isa.  xxi,2.  "Elam" 
was  the  ancient  name  of  Persia,  which  was  so 
called  from  Elam  the  son  of  Shem,  by  whose 
descendants  it  was  originally  settled.  Babylon, 
as  is  well  known,  was  besieged  and  captured 
by  the  united  forces  of  the  Medes  and  Persians, 
under  the  command  of  Cyrus.  The  king  of 
the  Medes  at  this  time  was  Cyaxares,  who  is 
called,  in  Scripture,  Darius  the  Median.  Cyrus 
was  the  king  of  Persia,  and  nephew  of  Cy- 
axares. 

It  was  foreshown  that  the  Medes  and  Per- 
sians should  be  aided  in  their  undertaking  by 
other  nations.  ^^Blow  the  trumpet  among  the 
nations;  call  together  against  her  the  kingdoms 
of  Ararat,  Minni,  and  Ashchenaz ;  prepare 
against  her  the  nations  with  the  kings  of  the 
Medes;'  Jer.  li,  27,  28.  By  "Ararat"  and 
"  Minni"  are  meant  the  Greater  and  Less  Ar- 
menia. What  nation  is  intended  by  "  Ashche- 
naz" is  less  certain ;  but  it  is  commonly  sup- 
posed to  mean  Phrygia;  a  conclusion  which 
seems  to  be  favoured*  by  a  passage  in  Homer, 
where  he  speaks  of 

"  The  Phrygians  from  Ascania's  distant  land." 
18 


274  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

Cyrus  had  subdued  Armenia,  Phrygia,  and 
all  the  other  nations  of  Asia  Minor,*  before  he 
attempted  the  siege  of  Babylon ;  and  these 
nations  were  compelled  to  act  as  his  allies  in 
that  expedition.  Xenophon  expressly  men- 
tions the  Armenians,  Phrygians,  Lydians,  Cap- 
padocians,  &c.,  as  forming  part  of  his  army. 

It  was  predicted  that  the  invaders  of  Baby- 
lon should  come  from  the  north.  "  I  will  cause 
to  come  up  against  Babylon  an  assembly  of 
great  nations  from  the  north  country  J''  Jer.  1,  9. 
"  The  spoilers  shall  come  upon  her  from  the 
north,^'  Jer.  li,  48.  All  the  countries  mentioned 
in  the  preceding  paragraph  lie  to  the  north  of 
Babylon. 

"  The  mighty  men  of  Babylon  have  for ehorne  to 
fight;  they  have  remained  in  their  holds;  their 
might  hath  failed;  they  became  as  women,''^  Jer. 
li,  30.  When  the  king  of  Babylon  heard  of  the 
approach  of  Cyrus,  he  marched  out  with  his 
army  to  give  him  battle  ;  but  the  "  mighty  men," 
who  in  former  years  had  carried  the  terror  of 
their  arms  to  distant  nations,  were  overthrown 

*  In  the  conquest  of  these  countries  we  see  the  fulfil- 
ment of  that  prophecy  respecting  Cyrus,  in  which  it  was 
said  that  the  Lord  would  subdue  nations  before  him.  Isa. 
xlv,  1. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  275 

with  little  difficulty,  and  driren  back  into  the 
city.  From  this  time  the  Babylonians  "  for- 
bore to  fight ;"  dispirited  by  their  defeat,  they 
ventured  not  again  to  try  the  fortune  of  arms, 
but  "  remained  in  their  holds"  during  the  whole 
of  the  time  that  the  city  was  besieged  by  the 
Persians. 

The  besiegers  were  unable  to  draw  out  the 
Babylonians  to  a  combat  in  the  open  field,  and 
they  found  it  impossible  to  take  by  assault  a 
city  that  was  defended  by  such  high  and  mas- 
sive walls.  They  then  proposed  to  blockade 
the  city,  and  reduce  it  by  famine :  but  this 
was  soon  found  to  be  equally  impracticable  ;  for 
the  inhabitants  had  provisions  stored  up  in  the 
city  sufficient  to  last  for  several  years,  besides 
what  they  were  able  to  raise  in  the  fields  and  gar- 
dens that  were  included  within  the  walls.  After 
a  fruitless  siege  of  two  years,  therefore,  Cyrus 
resolved  on  attempting  to  get  possession  of  the 
city  by  stratagem ;  and  in  this  he  succeeded. 
That  the  city  should  be  taken  in  this  way,  and 
not  by  force,  was  foretold  in  Jer.  1,  24,  where  it 
is  said,  ^' I  have  laid  a  snare  for  thee,  and  thou  art 
also  taken,  O  Babylon,  and  thou  wast  not  awareP 

To  understand  the  method  by  which  Baby- 
lon was  taken,  it  should  be  remembered,  that 
the  Euphrates  ran  through  the  city,  with  which 


276  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

it  communicated  by  means  of  numerous  brazen 
gates  ;  and  also  that  there  was  in  the  vicinity 
an  immense  artificial  lake,  which  had  been  con- 
structed for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the  over- 
flowings of  the  river  at  the  time  of  its  annual 
inundations.  Cyrus,  by  opening  the  great  dam 
of  the  trench  which  led  from  the  river  to  the 
lake,  diverted  the  stream  from  its  proper  course, 
and  thus  laid  the  channel,  where  it  went 
through  the  city,  almost  dry.  As  soon  as  it 
was  dark,  the  Persians,  dividing  themselves 
into  two  bodies,  went  down  into  the  bed  of 
the  river,  both  above  and  below  the  city,  and 
marched  silently  along  the  bottom  till  they 
reached  the  gates  that  led  into  the  city,  and 
finding  them  open,  they  immediately  entered, 
and  took  the  place  by  surprise.  In  this  re- 
markable stratagem,  the  following  predictions 
respecting  the  capture  of  Babylon  were  lite- 
rally fulfilled  : — "  I  am  the  Lord — that  saith  to 
the  deep,  *  Be  dry,  and  I  will  dry  up  thy  rivers:* 
that  saith  of  Cyrus,  *  He  shall  perform  all  my 
pleasure  ; — and  /  will  open  before  him  the  two- 
leaved  gates ;  and  the  gates  shall  not  he  shut^  " 
Isa.  xliv,  27,  28  ;  xlv,  1.  It  was  the  invariable 
custom  to  close  these  gates  every  night ;  but 
on  this  occasion  they  had  been  negligently 
left  open.    Had  not  this  been  the  case,  Cyrus's 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  277 

Stratagem  would  have  availed  him  nothing; 
and  had  the  Babylonians  been  aware  at  the 
moment  what  he  was  doing,  they  might  not 
only  have  saved  themselves,  but  might  have 
caught  the  Persians  in  their  own  snare ;  for 
had  they  shut  the  gates  leading  to  the  river, 
and  ascended  the  walls  which  lined  its  banks, 
they  would  have  enclosed  the  besiegers  as  in 
a  net,  and  might  have  poured  destruction  upon 
them  in  a  thousand  shapes.  But  the  attack 
was  made  in  a  quarter  where  the  Babyloni- 
ans anticipated  no  danger;  and,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  prophet,  trouble  came  upon  them 
suddenly,  of  which  they  had  no  apprehension. 

The  chief  cause  of  this  unparalleled  negli- 
gence on  the  part  of  the  Babylonians,  was. the 
fact  that  they  were  then  engaged  in  the  cele- 
bration of  one  of  their  great  annual  festivals, 
and  were,  according  to  their  usual  practice  on 
such  occasions,  spending  the  night  in  revel- 
ling and  drunkenness  ;  and  it  was  the  know- 
ledge of  this  fact  that  induced  Cyrus  to  under- 
take his  singularly  bold  and  adventurous  expe- 
dition. Feeling  secure  in  the  protection  of  their 
impregnable  walls,  the  entire  population  of  the 
city  had  given  themselves  up  to  festivity.  The 
king  was  "  drinking  wine"  with  his  "  thousand 
lords,"  and  the  voice  of  joy,  and  the  noise  of 


27S  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

riot  resounded  through  the  palace.  But  while 
they  were  enjoying  themselves  in  careless  se- 
curity, the  victorious  besiegers  entered  the  city 
unperceived,  and  surprised  them  in  the  midst  of 
their  mirth.  "  That  night  was  Belshazzar,  king 
of  the  Chaldeans,  slain;"  and  the  nobles  of 
Babylon  passed  from  the  banqueting-house  to 
the  grave.*  Thus  had  the  voice  of  prophecy 
declared  that  it  should  be.  "  In  their  heat  I 
will  make  their  feasts,  and  I  will  make  them 
drunken^  that  they  may  rejoice,  and  sleep  a  per- 
petual sleep,  and  not  wake,  saith  the  Lord. — And 
I  will  make  drunk  her  princes,  and  her  wise  men, 
her  captains,  and  her  rulers,  and  her  mighty  men : 
and  they  shall  sleep  a  perpetual  sleep,  and  not 
wake;'  Jer.  li,  39,  57. 

"  One  post  shall  run  to  meet  another,  and  one 
messenger  to  meet  another,  to  show  the  king  of 
Babylon  that  his  city  is  taken  at  one  end,''  Jer.  li., 
31.  The  import  of  this  prediction  plainly  is, 
that  a  messenger  despatched  to  the  palace  from 
one  end  of  the  city  with  the  information  that 
the  city  was  taken  at  the  point  from  which 
he  started,  should  there  meet  another  messen- 
ger bringing  the  same  intelligence  from  the  op- 
posite quarter.     We  have  already  stated,  thai 

*  Read,  in  connection  with  the  above,  the  fifth  chapter 
of  Daniel. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  279 

Cyrus  formed  his  troops  into  two  divisions,  one 
of  which  entered  at  each  end  of  the  city ;  and 
we  learn  from  Herodotus,  that  owing  to  the 
great  extent  of  the  city,  and  the  suddenness  of 
the  attack,  the  people  in  the  extreme  parts 
were  made  prisoners  before  those  in  the  centre 
knew  any  thing  of  their  danger.  The  first  in- 
telligence, therefore,  of  the  capture  of  the  city, 
that  would  reach  the  palace,  which  stood  in  the 
centre,  would  naturally  be  communicated  by 
messengers  or  fugitives  from  each  end. 

"  Her  young  men  shall  fall  in  the  streets,  and 
all  her  men  of  war  shall  he  cut  o^,"  Jer.  1,  3d  ; 
"  Every  one  that  is  found  shall  be  thrust  through,''^ 
Isa.  xiii,  1 5.  Such  is  the  prophecy  ;  and  what 
was  the  fact  ?  Xenophon  informs  us  that  Cy- 
rus, after  he  had  taken  the  city,  "  sent  a  body 
of  horse  up  and  down  through  the  streets,  bid- 
ding them  kill  those  that  they  found  abroad ; 
and  ordering  some  who  understood  the  Syrian 
language,  to  proclaim  it  to  those  that  were  in 
the  houses  to  remain  within,  and  that  if  any 
were  found  abroad  they  should  be  killed.  These 
men  did  accordingly." 

The  next  morning,  as  soon  as  it  was  light, 
the  soldiers  who  kept  the  citadel,  being  ap- 
prised of  the  capture  of  the  city  and  the  death 
of  the  king,  gave  it  up  without  resistance  to 


280  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

the  conqueror,  who  immediately  placed  in  it  a 
garrison  of  his  own  troops.  He  then  issued  a 
proclamation  requiring  the  Babylonians,  on 
pain  of  death,  to  give  up  all  their  arms,  which 
they  accordingly  did.  After  this  he  imposed 
taxes  upon  them,  and  distributed  their  principal 
houses  and  palaces  as  rewards  to  those  whom 
he  considered  most  deserving  among  his  offi- 
cers.  Thus  did  Cyrus,  almost  without  any  loss 
on  his  part,  make  himself  master  of  the  strongest 
city  in  the  world. 

By  this  blow  an  end  was  put  to  the  great  As- 
syrian empire  of  Babylon,  by  which  so  many 
other  empires  had  been  overthrown ;  and  thus, 
as  had  been  predicted,  "  the  hammer'^  which  had 
broken  the  nations  was  at  length  itself  "  cut 
asunder  and  hroken,^^  Jer.  1,  23. 

The  inspired  seers  declared  that  Babylon 
should  never  recover  from  its  overthrow.  "  It 
shall  sink,''^  said  Jeremiah,  "  and  shall  not  rise 
again,^^  Jer.  li,  64.  The  prophet  Isaiah,  too,  in 
foretelling  its  ruin,  made  use  of  a  comparison 
which  precluded  all  hope  of  its  restoration. 
"  It  shall  Z>e,"  said  he,  "  as  when  God  overthrew 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  It  shall  never  be  inhabit- 
ed, neither  shall  it  be  dwelt  in  from  generation  to 
generation,''^  Isa.  xiii,  19,  20.     It  was  in  the  last 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  281 

particular — its  final  and  utter  desolation — that 
Babylon  was  to  resemble  the  "  cities  of  the 
plain ;"  for  as  to  the  method  and  time  employ- 
ed in  producing  the  determined  end,  there  was 
in  the  two  cases  a  wide  difference.  In  the  one 
case  it  was  accomplished,  as  in  a  moment,  by 
the  immediate  interposition  of  Heaven ;  in  the 
other,  human  agency  was  employed  to  bring  about 
the  same  end  by  slow  though  sure  degrees. 

The  first  step  in  its  progress  to  ruin  was  its 
ceasing  to  be  the  sole  capital  of  the  empire ; 
the  Persian  kings  preferring  to  reside  the  great- 
er part  of  their  time  at  Susa,  [Shushan,]  Ecba- 
tana,  and  Persepolis.  This  was  a  great  blow  to 
the  prosperity  and  importance  of  Babylon. 

The  next  step  to  its  desolation  was  its  re 
hellion  against  Darius  Hystaspes,*  which 
took  place  about  twenty  years  after  its  capture 
by  Cyrus.  Impatient  of  their  subjection,  and 
relying  as  heretofore  upon  the  strength  of  their 
fortifications,  which  had  been  in  no  wise  in- 
jured by  the  conquerors,  the  Babylonians,  after 

*  This  monarch  was  the  third  in  succession  from  Cyrus. 
Cyrus  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Cambyses,  and  he  by  a 
usurper  named  Smerdis  :  the  former  of  these  is  called  in 
Scripture  Ahasuenis,  and  the  latter,  Artaxerxes.  Ezra  iv, 
5-24.  Darius  Hystaspes  is  the  Darius  spoken  of  in  the 
same  chapter. 


282  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY, 

having  secretly  stored  the  city  with  provisions 
for  a  siege,  broke  into  open  revolt,  and  defied 
the  whole  power  of  the  Persian  empire.  Da- 
rius with  his  forces  marched  against  the  city, 
and  the  Babylonians,  finding  themselves  beset 
with  an  army  which  they  were  unable  to  with- 
stand in  the  open  field,  turned  their  whole  at- 
tention to  the  supporting  of  themselves  during 
the  blockade,  trusting  that  they  would  be  en- 
abled to  hold  out  until  Darius,  wearied  by  the 
length  of  the  siege,  and  hopeless  of  taking  the 
city,  should  give  up  the  attempt  in  despair.  To 
make  their  provisions  last  the  longer  they  deter- 
mined to  put  to  death  all  who  were  unable  to 
assist  in  the  defence  of  the  city ;  and  accord- 
ingly they  strangled  all  their  wives,  sisters, 
daughters,  and  young  children,  except  that 
every  man  saved  from  his  family  one  female 
whom  he  loved  the  best.  May  we  not  con- 
sider this  as  the  fulfilment  of  that  prophecy  of 
Isaiah  (xlvii,  9)  which  declared,  that  "  in  one 
day  two  things,  loss  of  children  and  widowhood, 
should  come  upon  them  in  their  perfection  ?" 
"  For,"  as  Dr.  Prideaux  observes,  "  in  what 
greater  perfection  could  these  calamities  come 
upon  them,  than  when  they  themselves,  thus 
upon  themselves,  became  the  executioners  of 
them  r' 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  283 

The  barbarous  policy  of  the  Babylonians, 
however,  availed  them  nothing;  for  Darius,  after 
having  vainly  spent  a  year  and  eight  months  in 
the  siege,  at  length  took  the  city  by  the  follow- 
ing extraordinary  stratagem : — 

Zopyrus,  one  of  Darius's  most  honourable 
nobles,  after  having  cut  off  his  nose  and  ears, 
and  mangled  his  body  with  stripes,  fled  in  this 
deplorable  condition  to  the  besieged.  He  re- 
presented to  the  Babylonians  that  the  cruel 
treatment  of  which  his  body  bore  such  indeli- 
ble marks,  had  been  inflicted  upon  him  by  Da- 
rius, because  he  had  advised  that  monarch  to 
give  up  the  siege ;  and  pretended  that  he  was 
now  burning  with  a  desire  to  revenge  himself 
upon  the  tyrant.  The  Babylonians,  suspecting 
nothing,  admitted  him  to  their  councils  and 
their  confidence,  and  gave  him  an  important 
military  command.  After  he  had  successfully 
attacked,  and  entirely  destroyed  three  several 
detachments  of  the  Persian  troops,  and  when 
it  was  supposed  that  his  fidelity  had  been  suffi- 
ciently proved,  he  was  raised  to  the  chief  com- 
mand of  the  army,  and  intrusted  with  the  high 
and  responsible  office  of  guardian  of  the  walls. 
Darius,  as  if  about  to  make  an  assault,  then 
advanced  with  all  his  army  to  the  walls  ;  when 
Zopyrus,  as  he  had  designed,  opened  the  gates 


284  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

to  him,  and  the  city  was  taken  without  difficul 
ty.      The  treachery  of  Zopyrus  equally  sui 
prised  the  Persians  and  the  Babylonians ;  for 
the  whole  scheme  was  preconcerted  by  him 
and  Darius,  and,  until  its  development,  was 
unknown  to  any  other  person. 

As  soon  as  the  Persians  got  possession  of 
the  place,  they  put  three  thousand  of  the  princi- 
pal citizens,  who  had  been  most  active  in  the 
revolt,  to  a  painful  and  lingering  death.  They 
were  cruel,  and  showed  no  mercy.  Jer.  1,  42. 

Darius  then  took  effectual  measures  to  pre- 
vent a  second  insurrection  of  the  inhabitants; 
for  he  broke  down  the  greater  part  of  the  walls, 
reducing  them  to  one-fourth  of  their  former 
height ;  and  he  also  took  away  the  gates.  And 
herein  commenced  the  fulfilment  of  that  prophe- 
cy of  Jeremiah  which  declared  that  "  the  hroad 
walls  of  Babylon  should  he  utterly  broken,  and  her 
high  gates  burned  with  fire, ^^*  Jer.  li,  58. 

After  its  conquest  by  Darius,  Babylon  was 
always  regarded  by  the  Persian  monarchs  with 

*  By  the  prediction  that  the  "  gates"  should  be  "  burned 
with  fire,"  we  can  understand  no  more  than  that  they 
should  be  taken  away  and  melted  down,  that  the  metal  of 
which  they  were  composed  might  be  used  for  some  other 
purpose  ;  for  being  made  of  solid  brass,  they  could  not  be 
**  burned"  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  285 

a  jealous  eye.  Xerxes,  the  son  and  successor 
of  Darius,  on  his  return  from  his  unsuccessful 
expedition  into  Greece,  passed  through  Baby- 
lon :  while  there,  he  laid  hands  upon  the 
massive  golden  statue,  and  other  treasures  con- 
tained in  the  temple  of  Belus  ;  and  then  com- 
manded that  vast  and  magnificent  building  to  be 
destroyed.  According  to  Arrian,  the  other  tem- 
ples in  the  city  also  shared  the  same  fate.  The 
value  of  the  images  and  other  plunder  taken  by 
Xerxes  at  this  time,  amounted,  according  to  the 
account  furnished  by  Diodorus,  to  about  one  hun- 
dred millions  of  dollars.  In  the  pillage  and  de- 
struction of  these  temples  we  see  the  fulfilment 
of  the  following  predictions  : — "  /  will  punish 
Bel  in  Babylon ;  I  will  bring  forth  out  of  his 
mouth  that  which  he  had  swallowed  up;  and  I 
will  do  judgment  upon  all  the  graven  images 
of  Babylon^''  Jer.  li,  44,  47.  See  also  similar 
predictions  in  Isa.  xxi,  9,  and  Jer.  1,  2. 

After  Alexander  had  overthrown  the  Per 
sians,  he  advanced  to  Babylon,  which  he  took 
without  resistance  ;  for  the  Persians  had  been 
such  severe  masters  to  the  Babylonians,  that 
the  latter  hailed  with  joy  the  change  of  rulers, 
and  poured  forth  in  crowds  to  meet  the  con- 
queror. On  entering  the  city,  his  first  care 
was  to  restore  the  shrines  that  had  been  de- 


286  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

stroyed  by  Xerxes  ;  and  he  even  undertook  to 
rebuild  the  temple  of  Belus  in  all  its  former 
magnificence.  In  this  undertaking  he  was 
eagerly  assisted  by  all  the  inhabitants  except 
the  Jews,  who  alone  refused  to  have  any  thing 
to  do  with  the  work ;  but  the  attempt  was  soon 
abandoned,  for  the  mass  of  rubbish  under 
which  the  remains  of  the  temple  lay  buried 
was  so  immense,  that  Strabo  tells  us  ten  thou- 
sand men  would  have  been  required  to  work 
for  two  months  in  only  clearing  it  away.  The 
design  of  Alexander  was  to  restore  Babylon  to 
its  ancient  glory,  and  make  it  the  metropolis  of 
his  empire,  and  the  central  point  of  the  com- 
merce of  the  world ;  and,  with  his  characteris- 
tic energy,  he  took  measures  to  carry  his  plans 
into  effect.  But  Providence  interposed.  At 
the  very  moment  when  it  seemed  as  if  the  de- 
clared purpose  of  Jehovah  respecting  Babylon 
was  about  to  be  frustrated,  Alexander,  then  in 
the  height  of  his  glory,  and  the  flower  of  his 
age,  was  cut  ofl',  and  his  project  perished  with 
him.* 

Babylon  was  at  this  time  completely  fallen 
from  her  ancient  splendour,  and  was  beginning 
to  wear  a  desolate  appearance.     Seleucus  Ni- 

*  He  died  at  Babylon,  in  the  year  323  before  Christ, 
and  in  the  thirty-second  or  thirty-third  year  of  his  age. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  287 

cator,  who  succeeded  Alexander  in  this  portion 
of  his  empire,  abandoned  Babylon  altogether, 
and  transferred  the  capital  of  his  kingdom  to  a 
new  city  which  he  had  built  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tigris,  and  which  he  called  Seleucia,  after 
his  own  name.  To  this  place  the  greater  part 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Babylon  removed. 

From  this  period  Babylon  rapidly  hastened 
to  that  state  of  utter  desolation  to  which  it  had 
been  doomed  by  the  word  of  prophecy.  Strabo 
says, — "  None  of  Alexander's  successors  ever 
cared  more  for  Babylon ;  and  the  remains  of 
that  city  were  entirely  neglected.  The  Per- 
sians destroyed  one  part  of  it,  and  time,  and  the 
indifference  of  the  Macedonian  princes,  com- 
pleted its  ruin,  especially  after  Seleucus  Nica- 
tor  had  built  Seleucia  in  its  neighbourhood. 
And  now  (he  adds)  Seleucia  is  greater  than 
Babylon,  which  is  so  much  deserted  that  one 
may  apply  to  it  what  the  comic  poet  said  of 
another  place, 

*  The  great  city  is  become  a  great  desert.'  " 

Such  was  its  condition  in  the  time  of  Stra- 
bo, who  flourished  a  few  years  before  the  birth 
of  Christ.  Pausanias,  who  lived  nearly  two 
hundred  years  later,  says,  there  was  then 
"  nothing  remaining  but  the  walls ;"  and  Lu- 


288  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

cian,  who  wrote  about  the  same  time,  remarks, 
that  "  Babylon,  like  Nineveh,  would  soon  be 
sought  for  and  not  be  found." 

St.  Jerome,  in  the  fourth  century,  says  he 
was  informed,  by  a  certain  Elamite  brother 
who  came  from  those  parts,  that  the  royal 
huntings  were  in  Babylon,  and  that  wild  beasts 
of  every  kind  were  enclosed  within  the  circuit 
of  its  walls,  which  had  been  repaired  for  that 
purpose.  All  the  space  within  the  walls,  he 
tells  us,  was  a  desolation.*  Cyril  of  Alexan- 
dria, who  died  in  444,  tells  us,  that  the  canals 
drawn  from  the  Euphrates  having  filled  up,  the 
soil  of  Babylon  had  become  nothing  better  than 
a  marsh. 

Thus  it  appears,  that  in  the  fifth  century  af- 
ter Christ,  the  purpose  of  the  Lord  respecting 
Babylon,  to  make  it  "a  desolation  without 
an  inhabitant,"  had  been  fully  accomplished. 

The  prophets  not  only  foretold  the  destruction 
of  Babylon,  and  the  circumstances  that  should 
lead  to  it,  but  also  depicted,  with  singular 
minuteness  and  accuracy, the  appearance  which 
it  would  exhibit  in  its  state  of  desolation ; 
and  the  wonderful  correspondence  between 
their  predictions  and  the  narratives  of  those 

*  St.  Jerome  on  Isaiah ;  quoted  by  Bishop  Newton. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  289 

travellers  who  have  visited  the  place,  fully  es- 
tablish the  divinity  of  that  inspiration  under 
which  they  wrote  and  spoke. 

"  The  broad  walls  of  Babylon  shall  be  utterly  bro- 
ken,— yea,  the  walls  of  Babylon  shall  fall, ^^  Jer.  li, 
44, 58.  The  walls  of  Babylon  are  said  by  Hero- 
dotus to  have  been  two  hundred  cubits,  or  three 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  high  ;  while  Strabo  states 
their  height  at  fifty  cubits.  They  were  re- 
duced from  the  former  height  to  the  latter  by 
Darius,  (as  mentioned  in  page  284,)  and  in  that 
circumstance,  this  prediction  was  partially  ful- 
filled. Since  that  time,  the  words  of  the  pro- 
phecy have  been  accomplished  in  their  fullest 
signification.  "  The  broad  walls  of  Babylon 
are  utterly  broken."  Among  the  numerous  tra- 
vellers who  have  visited  the  site,  some  of 
whom  have  traversed  the  ruins  for  miles,  in 
various  directions,  and  expended  days  in  their 
search  after  the  walls  of  Babylon,  not  one  has 
succeeded  in  discovering  the  least  vestige  of 
their  remains,  or  any  thing  to  point  out  the 
spot  on  which  they  stood.  One  traveller  [Capt. 
Frederick]  explored  a  tract  of  country  twelve 
miles  in  width  and  twenty-one  in  length,  along 
the  Euphrates,  examining  both  banks  of  the 
river,  and  could  perceive  nothing  to  indicate 
that  either  a  wall  or  a  ditch  had  ever  exist- 
19 


290  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

ed  within  this  area.  It  may  at  first  view  excite  as- 
tonishment that  not  the  slightest  traces  of  these 
prodigious  walls  are  now  to  be  seen ;  but  this  as- 
tonishment will  be  somewhat  abated  when  it  is 
remembered,  that  for  more  than  two  thousand 
years  the  ruins  of  Babylon  have  served  as 
quarries  for  the  construction  of  new  cities. 
Nearly  all  the  cities  that  have  arisen  in  its 
neighbourhood  within  that  period  have  been  built 
with  bricks  taken  from  thence ;  and  even  at 
the  present  day,  persons  are  almost  continu- 
ally engaged  in  digging  into  the  remaining 
mounds  of  ruins  and  carrying  away  the  bricks 
as  fast  as  they  can  extract  them. 

"  Cast  her  up  as  heaps,  and  destroy  her  utter- 
ly,^^  Jer.  1,  26.  "  Babylon  shall  become  heaps, ^^ 
Jer.  li,  37.  There  is  no  standing  ruin  of  this 
primitive  and  devoted  city,  but  the  whole  is  a 
collection  of  "  heaps,"  which  at  a  distance  ap- 
pear like  natural  hills,  except  that  no  green 
thing  grows  upon  them  ;  but  a  nearer  approach 
shows  that  they  are  composed  of  bricks  and  rub- 
bish, and  cover  all  that  remains  of  "  the  beauty  of 
the  Chaldee's  excellency."  "  The  ruins,"  says 
Mr.  Rich, "  consist  of  mounds  of  earth,  formed  by 
the  decomposition  of  buildings,  channelled  and 
furrowed  by  the  weather,  and  the  surface  of 
them  strewed  with  pieces  of  brick,  bitumen 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  291 

and  pottery."  These  heaps  or  mounds,  he 
tells  us,  "  are  of  such  indeterminate  figures, 
variety,  and  extent,  as  to  involve  in  inextricable 
confusion  the  person  who  should  have  formed 
any  theory  respecting  them."  "  Vast  Jieaps^^^ 
says  Mr.  Keppel,  "  constitute  all  that  now  re- 
mains of  ancient  Babylon."  Mr.  Ryal  says^ — 
"  The  ruins  were  visible  at  some  distance,  and 
rose  above  the  plain  in  several  detached  and 
gigantic  masses.  On  a  near  examination,  we 
found  them  to  consist  of  a  collection  of  lofty 
ridges,  and  some  immense  heaps  of  pulverized 
bricks  and  rubbish,  excavated  and  turned  up  in 
every  direction."  In  another  place  he  remarks, 
— "  So  complete  and  signal  has  been  the  de- 
struction of  Babylon,  and  so  truly  have  the  pro- 
phecies concerning  her  been  fulfilled,  that  the 
traveller,  in  contemplating  the  almost  undefina- 
ble  evidences  of  her  former  existence,  may 
look  in  vain,  beyond  a  few  broken  mounds  and 
heaps  of  rubbish,  for  more  satisfactory  proofs  to 
assist  him  in  his  researches."*  Other  travel- 
lers also  describe  the  ruins  of  Babylon  as  con- 
sisting of  mere  "  heaps,"  "  hillocks,"  "mounds," 
&c. 

*  Journal  of  an  excursion  to  Babylon  and  the  tower  of 
Babel,  in  1839.  Published  in  the  London  Methodist  Maga- 
zine for  June,  1840. 


292  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

"  And  I  will  make  it — pools  of  water, ^^  Isa.  xiv, 
23.  The  canals  and  embankments,  constructed 
to  preserve  the  country  during  annual  inunda- 
tions, being  now  destroyed,  the  river  overflows 
unrestrained ;  "  and  the  floods,  in  their  season, 
convert  the  surrounding  coimtry  into  a  morass 
of  many  miles  in  extent."*  "  The  ruins  of  Ba- 
bylon are  then  inundated  so  as  to  render  many 
parts  of  them  inaccessible,  by  converting  the 
valleys  among  them  into  morasses.^^^  "  For  a 
long  time  after  the  general  subsiding  of  the 
Euphrates,  great  part  of  the  plain  is  little  bet- 
ter than  a  swamp ;  and  large  deposites  of  water 
are  left  stagnant  in  the  hollows  between  the 
ruins ;  again  verifying  the  threat  denounced 
against  it."J 

"  It  shall  never  be  inhabited,  neither  shall  it  be 
dwelt  in  from  generation  to  generation,^^  Isa.  xiii, 
20.  All  writers  and  travellers  agree  in  declar- 
ing that  the  ruins  of  Babylon  have  for  ages 
been  wholly  forsaken.  Fourteen  centuries  have 
passed  away  since  they  were  inhabited  by 
man.  Babylon  is  now  "  a  tenantless  and  deso- 
late metropolis."^  "  The  solitude  of  death 
reigns  where  a  tumultuous  throng  once  crowd- 
ed the  streets ;  and  the  silence  of  the  tomb  is 
substituted  for  the  hum  of  public  places."  The 
*Ryal.        tRich.         $  Porter.        §Keppel. 


SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY.  293 

full  accomplisliment  of  the  prophecy  is  also 
certain : — "  Babylon  shall  he  desolate  for  ever, — it 
shall  never  be  inhabited ;"  its  ruins,  as  we  have 
already  described  them,  being  in  such  a  state 
as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  their  ever  being 
again  tenanted  by  human  beings. 

"  Neither  shall  the  Arabian  pitch  tent  there ; 
neither  shall  the  shepherds  make  their  folds  there^^ 
Isa.  xiii,  20.  Not  only  is  Babylon  destitute  of 
settled  inhabitants,  but  even  the  wild  sons  of 
Ishmael,  in  their  wandering  life,  refuse  to  pitch 
their  tents  amid  its  ruins,  or  to  fold  their  flocks 
upon  its  desecrated  site.  One  reason  for  this 
is  the  fact  that  no  pasture  is  to  be  found  there  ; 
"  the  whole  site  being  a  perfect  desolation,  on 
which  nothing  useful  to  man,  or  to  the  beasts 
for  which  he  cares,  can  be  discovered."  Be- 
sides this,  the  Arabs  are  so  firmly  convinced 
that  the  ruins  are  haunted  by  multitudes  of  evil 
spirits,  that  even  when  employed  as  guides  to 
travellers,  they  cannot  be  induced  to  remain  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  principal  mounds  after 
night-fall.  This  superstitious  dread  would,  of 
itself,  prevent  the  Arabian  from  pitching  his 
tent  there,  even  if  he  could  find  rich  pastures 
for  his  flock.* 

"  But  mid  beasts  of  the  desert  shall  lie  there  ; 

*  Pictorial  Bible — Rich's  Memoir — ^Mignan's  Travels. 


294  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

and  their  houses  shall  he  full  of  doleful  creatures ; 
and  owls  shall  dwell  there^  and  satyrs'*^  shall  dance 
there^'*  Isa.  xiii,  21.  The  ruins  deserted  by 
man  are  tenanted  by  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
forest ;  and  the  untamed  lion  is  now  undisputed 
sovereign  of  the  once  mighty  Babylon.  When 
Mr.  Porter,  with  his  party,  were  approaching 
the  principal  mound  of  ruins,  (the  Birs  Nim- 
rood,)  they  were  suddenly  startled  at  beholding 
several  dark  objects  moving  along  on  its  sum- 
mit. Mr.  Porter,  having  taken  out  his  glass  to 
examine,  says, — "  I  soon  distinguished  that  the 
cause  of  our  alarm  were  two  or  three  majestic 
lions  taking  the  air  upon  the  height  of  the 
pyramid.  Perhaps  I  had  never  beheld  so  sub- 
lime a  picture  presented  to  the  mind  as  well  as 
to  the  eye.  While  we  continued  slowly  to 
advance,  the  hallooing  of  the  people  made  the 

*  "  It  is  rather  difficult  to  define  the  precise  meaning 
which  should  here  be  given  to  the  original  word  Sherim.  In 
its  primary  sense  something  hairy  or  rough  is  intended,  as 
in  Gen.  xxvii,  11.  In  Levit.  iv,  24,  and  xvi,  9,  it  is  ap- 
plied to  the  goat ;  and  in  Levit.  xvii,  7,  and  2  Chron.  xi, 
15,  it  is  applied  to  objects  of  idolatrous  worship,  (perhaps 
in  the  form  of  goats,)  and  translated  '  devils.'  Most  of 
the  rabbins  suppose  demons  to  be  denoted ;  and  if  so,  it 
must  be  supposed  to  mean  that  demons  should  be  reputed 
to  *  dance  there,'  which  is  literally  true,  as  we  have  already 
stated."— Pzcion'o/  Bible. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  295 

noble  beasts  gradually  change  their  position, 
till,  in  the  course  of  twenty  minutes,  they  to- 
tally disappeared.  We  then  rode  close  up  to 
the  ruins.  In  my  progress  I  stopped  several 
times  to  look  at  the  broad  prints  of  the  feet  of 
the  lions,  left  plainly  in  the  clayey  soil ;  and 
by  the  track,  I  saw  that  if  we  had  chosen  to 
rouse  such  royal  game  we  need  not  go  far  to 
find  their  lair.  While  thus  actually  contem- 
plating these  savage  tenants,  wandering  amidst 
the  ruins  of  Babylon,  and  bedding  themselves 
in  the  deep  cavities  of  her  once  magnificent 
temple,  I  could  not  but  reflect  how  faithfully 
the  various  prophecies  respecting  her  had  been 
fulfilled,  verifying,  in  fact,  the  very  words  of 
Isaiah, — *Wild  beasts  of  the  desert  shall  lie 
there.' "  In  another  place  he  tells  us  that  the 
caverns  "  are  now  the  refuge  of  jackals  and 
other  savage  animals."  Mr.  Ryal  says, — "  The 
summits  and  sides  of  the  mounds  present  in- 
numerable deep  pits  and  excavations,  the  dens 
and  undisturbed  retreats  of  wolves,  hyenas,  jack-- 
als,  and  wild  boars."  Mr.  Keppel  saw  a  large 
animal  couched  among  the  ruins  ;  and  also,  the 
foot-prints  of  a  lion  so  fresh  that  the  animal 
must  have  stolen  away  on  his  approach.  The 
entrances  to  the  dens,  he  tells  us,  were  "  strew- 
ed with  the  carcasses  and  skeletons  of  animals 


296  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

recently  killed ;"  and  his  guide  informed  him, 
that  "  the  ruins  abounded  in  lions  and  other 
wild  beasts.^'  Mr.  Rich  says, — "  There  are 
many  dens  of  mid  beasts  in  various  parts,  in 
one  of  which  I  found  the  bones  of  sheep  and 
other  animals,  and  perceived  a  strong  smell 
like  that  of  a  lion.  I  also  found  quantities  of 
porcupine  quills,  and  in  most  of  the  cavities 
are  numbers  of  bats  and  owls.^^ 

The  editor  of  the  Pictorial  Bible  is  of  opinion 
that  much  of  what  is  prophesied  in  Scripture 
respecting  Babylon,  is  to  be  understood  as  re- 
ferring to  all  the  ancient  cities  of  Babylonia. 
Speaking  of  these,  he  says, — "  Most  of  the  sites 
that  we  examined  were  pierced  with  holes  and 
caverns,  the  retreats  of  wild  beasts  of  the  desert, 
and  doleful  creatures.  In  these  sites  we  have 
seen  the  footsteps  of  lions,  have  observed  jack- 
als, and  have  been  apprised  of  the  presence 
of  hyenas,  porcupines,  lizards,  bats,  owls,  and 
other  fierce  and  gloomy  animals.  About  the 
mouths  of  the  caves  may  be  seen  the  bones 
of  sheep,  goats,  buffaloes,  and  even  camels; 
while  the  intolerable  stench  from  some  of  the 
dens,  confirmed  the  evidence  which  these  indi- 
cations afforded." 

"  Cut  off  the  sower  from  Babylon,  and  him  that 
handleth  the  sickle  in  the  time  of  harvest,''^  Jer.  1, 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  297 

16.  The  walls  of  Babylon  enclosed  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  country,  which  was  not 
built  upon,  but  cultivated  and  ploughed  for 
corn ;  so  that  in  case  of  siege  it  was  impos- 
sible to  starve  the  inhabitants  into  a  surrender, 
they  being  able  to  support  themselves  by  their 
internal  resources.  But  now  the  sower  is  cut  off 
from  Babylon ;  "  its  ruins,  composed  of  heaps  of 
rubbish  impregnated  with  nitre,  cannot  be  cul- 
tivated."* "  The  soil,  for  miles  around,  con- 
sists of  the  grit  and  clay  formed  by  the  decom- 
position of  buildings,  and  contains  no  principle 
friendly  to  vegetation.  Hence  the  site  of  Ba- 
bylon is  marked,  even  in  a  region  generally 
desolate,  by  an  appearance  of  utter  barrenness 
and  blast,  as  if  from  the  curse  of  God ;  which 
gives  a  most  intense  and  mournful  corrobora- 
tion to  the  denunciations  of  Scripture  pro- 
phecy."! 

The  divine  maledictions  Avere  pronounced 
not  only  against  Babylon  itself,  but  also  the 
whole  surrounding  country.  "  /  will  punish 
the  land  of  the  Chaldeans,  and  will  make  it 
perpetual  desolations,^^  Jer.  xxv,  12.  All  wri- 
ters concur  in  representing  this  tract  of  coun- 
try as  being  for  the  most  part  a  desolate  waste. 
"  It  is,"  says  Mr.  Rich,  "  the  most  flat,  barren, 
*Rich.  t  Pictorial  Bible. 


298  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

and  dreary,  that  can  possibly  be  imagined." 
"  The  face  of  the  country  presents  evidences 
of  having  undergone  a  sad  and  melancholy 
change ;  immense  and  stupendous  embank- 
ments of  canals  and  aqueducts,  now  choked 
up,  for  miles  intersect  the  plain;  undeniable 
and  existing  proofs,  that  this  part  of  Mesopo- 
tamia, now  an  uninhabitable  desert,  must  at  one 
time  have  been  a  highly  cultivated  and  popu- 
lous region."*  The  country  which  Herodotus 
declared  to  be  the  most  fertile  he  had  ever 
known,  "  is  now  one  utter  desert,  offering 
only  some  patches  of  cultivation  near  the  few 
settlements  which  it  contains."!  "  Its  abun- 
dance has  vanished  as  clean  away  as  if  *the 
besom  of  destruction'  had  swept  it  from  north 
to  south  ;  the  whole  land,  to  the  furthest  stretch 
of  vision,  lying  a  melancholy  waste."^ 

"  Babylon  shall  become  an  astonishment  and  a 
hissing. — Every  one  that  passeth  by  shall  be  as- 
tonished,''^ Jer.  1,  13 ;  li,  37.  None  can  look, 
without  feelings  of  mingled  awe  and  astonish- 
ment, upon  the  now  silent  and  solitary  waste 
which  was  Babylon.  "  I  cannot,"  observes 
one  traveller,^  "  portray  the  overpowering  sen- 
sations of  reverential  awe  that  possessed  my 

*Ryal.  t  Pictorial  Bible.  J  Porter. 

§  Capt.  Mignan,  as  quoted  by  Keith, 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  299 

mind  while  contemDlating  the  extent  and  mag- 
nitude of  ruin  and  devastation  on  every  side." 
"  A  more  complete  picture  of  desolation,"  says 
Mr.  Keppel,  "  could  not  well  be  imagined.  The 
eye  wanders  over  a  barren  desert,  in  which  the 
ruins  are  nearly  the  only  indication  that  it  had 
ever  been  inhabited.  It  is  impossible  to  behold 
the  scene,  and  not  to  be  reminded  how  exactly 
the  predictions  of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  have 
been  fulfilled,  even  in  the  appearance  which 
Babylon  was  doomed  to  present."  Mr.  Porter 
thus  expresses  his  feelings  on  approaching  its 
ruinous  site  : — "  As  we  crossed  a  bridge  which 
led  us  into  these  immense  tumuli  of  temples, 
palaces,  and  human  habitations  of  every  de- 
scription, now  buried  in  shapeless  heaps,  and  a 
silence  as  profound  as  the  grave,  I  could  not 
but  feel  an  indescribable  awe  in  thus  pass- 
ing as  it  were  into  the  gates  of  fallen  Babylon. 
A  ride  of  an  hour  and  a  quarter  more  brought 
us  to  the  north-east  shore  of  the  Euphrates, 
hitherto  excluded  from  our  view  by  the  in- 
tervention of  long  and  varied  lines  of  ruin, 
which  now  proclaimed  to  us  on  every  side 
that  we  were,  indeed,  in  the  very  midst  of  what 
had  been  Babylon.  These  consisted  of  masses 
of  ancient  foundations,  more  resembling  natural 
hills  in  appearance,  than  mounds  covering  the 


300  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

remains  of  former  great  and  splendid  edifices. 
Chains  of  these  undulating  heaps  were  every- 
where visible.  The  view  was  particularly 
solemn.  The  majestic  stream  of  the  Euphra- 
tes, wandering  in  solitude  like  a  pilgrim  mo- 
narch through  the  silent  ruins  of  his  devas- 
tated kingdom,  stiJl  appeared  a  noble  river, 
even  under  all  the  disadvantages  of  his  desert- 
tracked  course. — But  how  changed  the  rest  of 
the  scene  !  These  broken  hills  were  once  pa- 
laces ;  these  long,  undulating  mounds  were 
streets  ;  this  vast  solitude  was  filled  with  the 
busy  subjects  of  the  proud  daughter  of  the 
East.  Now,  wasted  with  misery,  her  habita- 
tions are  not  to  be  found."  "  She  is  become  an 
astonishment  and  a  hissing ;"  "  her  pomp  is 
brought  down  to  the  grave;  the  worm  is  spread 
over  her,''^  Isa.  xiv,  11. 

Among  the  ruins  of  Babylon  there  are  four, 
which,  on  account  of  their  stupendous  size, 
have  excited  the  astonishment  of  all  who  have 
witnessed  them.  These  are  severally  denomi- 
nated the  Amram  Hill,  the  Kasr,  the  Mujelibe, 
and  the  Birs  Nimrood.  The  following  descrip- 
tion of  them  is  condensed  from  the  accounts  of 
several  travellers. 

The  ruins  of  Babylon  are,  with  the  exception 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  301 

of  the  Birs,  almost  wholly  confined  to  the  east- 
em  side  of  the  river,  commencing  about  two 
miles  above  the  modern  town  of  Hillah.  The 
first  grand  mass  of  ruin  which  the  traveller 
meets  with  after  leaving  Hillah  is  that  called  the 
Amram  Hill,  This  mound  is  nearly  triangular 
in  form ;  its  longest  side  is  upward  of  four  thou- 
sand feet  in  length,  and  its  shortest  about 
twenty-five  hundred ;  its  height  is  very  irregu- 
lar, but  the  most  elevated  part  is  about  fifty  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  plain.  Its  sides  are 
pierced  with  numerous  furrows  and  ravines, 
which  have  been  formed  by  digging  into  it  for 
the  purpose  of  extracting  the  brick^.  Besides 
its  immense  size,  this  heap  offers  no  peculiarity 
worthy  of  notice ;  being  nothing  more  than  a 
vast  and  irregular  mass,  composed  of  earth 
mixed  with  fragments  of  bricks,  broken  pottery, 
mortar,  and  bitumen,  where  the  foot  of  the  tra- 
veller sinks  at  every  step  into  the  loose  dust 
and  rubbish.  The  name  of  Amram  was  given 
to  it  from  an  unfounded  tradition  that  a  Moham- 
medan saint  of  that  name  was  buried  there. 
Its  original  state  or  designation,  it  is  now  im- 
possible to  determine. 

From  the  northern  side  of  this  mound,  a  val- 
ley, one  thousand  six  hundred  feet  in  length, 
covered  with  tussocks  of  rank  grass,  conducts 


302  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

the  traveller  to  the  second  grand  heap  of  ruins, 
which  is  called  by  the  natives  El  Kasr,  or  the 
palace,  from  a  not  improbable  tradition,  that  it 
comprises  the  remains  of  the  ancient  residence 
of  the  Babylonian  kings.  This  mound  is  in 
shape  nearly  square,  and  measures  about  two 
thousand  feet  in  length  and  breadth.  Its  height 
is  about  the  same  as  that  of  the  Amram  Hill. 
Vast  heaps  of  rubbish,  overtopping  each  other 
like  the  waves  of  a  great  sea,  intercept  the  pro- 
gress of  the  traveller  as  he  scrambles  up  its 
ascent,  or  wanders  over  its  summit.  Every 
vestige  discoverable  in  it  declares  it  to  have  been 
composed  of  buildings  far  superior  to  all  others 
on  the  eastern  side ;  the  bricks  in  the  other 
mounds  being  merely  sun-dried,  while  these 
are  of  the  finest  description  of  furnace-burned 
brick,*  perfectly  moulded,  and  having  inscrip- 

*  "  We  find  two  kinds  of  brick  in  Babylon ;  the  one  burn- 
ed in  a  kiln,  the  other  dried  in  the  sun.  The  general  size 
of  the  kiln-burned  brick  is  thirteen  inches  square,  by  three 
thick.  They  are  of  several  different  colours ;  the  finest 
Ire  of  a  whitish  yellow,  like  our  fire  bricks  ;  the  coarsest 
are  red,  like  our  common  bricks ;  and  there  are  some 
which  have  a  blackish  cast,  and  are  very  hard.  The  sun- 
dried  bricks  are  considerably  larger  than  those  baked  in  the 
kiln,  and  in  general  look  like  thick,  clumsy  clods  of  earth, 
m  which  are  seen  small  broken  reeds,  or  chopped  straw, 
used  for  the  obvious  purpose  of  binding  them." — Rich. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECr.  303 

tions  on  the  lower  surface ;  and  although  they 
have  been  continually  taken  away  from  this 
place,  as  from  a  great  storehouse,  for  centuries, 
they  still  appear  to  be  abundant.  The  opera- 
tion of  extracting  the  bricks  has  greatly  dis- 
figured the  appearance  of  the  mound,  as  the 
workmen  in  search  of  them,  dig  into  it  in  every 
direction,  hollowing  out  deep  ravines  and  pits, 
and  throwing  up  the  rubbish  in  heaps  on  the 
surface.  In  some  places  they  have  bored  into 
the  solid  mass,  forming  winding  caverns  and 
subterranean  passages.  In  all  these  excava- 
tions, walls  of  burned  brick,  laid  in  lime  mor- 
tar of  a  very  good  quality,  are  to  be  seen  ;  and 
in  addition  to  the  substances  generally  strewed 
on  the  surfaces  of  all  these  mounds,  we  here 
find  fragments  of  alabaster  vessels,  fine  earthen- 
ware, marble,  and  great  quantities  of  varnished 
tiles,  the  glazing  and  colouring  of  which  are 
surprisingly  fresh.  In  this  mound,  too,  Mr. 
Rich  found  sepulchral  urns  of  earthenware,  fill- 
ed with  ashes,  with  some  small  fragments  of 
bones  in  them.  Under  this  mound,  a  subter- 
ranean passage,  seven  feet  in  height,  has  been 
discovered  ;  it  is  floored  and  walled  with  large 
bricks,  and  covered  with  pieces  of  sand-stone, 
a  yard  thick  and  several  yards  long.  Near  the 
centre  of  this  mound  is  a  very  remarkable  ruin, 


304  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

which  being  uncovered,  and  in  part  detached 
from  the  rubbish,  is  visible  from  a  considerable 
distance  ;  but  is  so  surprisingly  fresh  in  its  ap- 
pearance that  it  was  only  after  a  minute  inspec- 
tion that  Mr.  Rich  was  satisfied  of  its  being  in  re- 
ality a  Babylonian  remain.  It  consists  of  several 
walls  and  piers,  eight  feet  in  thickness,  in  some 


North  face  of  the  Kasr. 

places  ornamented  with  niches,  and  in  others 
strengthened  by  pilasters  and  buttresses,  built 
of  fine  burned  brick,  (still  perfectly  clean  and 
sharp,)  laid  in  lime  cement  of  such  tenacity  that 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  detach  the  bricks 
without  breaking  them ;  and  yet  the  layers  of 
cement  are  not  more  than  the  twentieth  part  of 
an  inch  in  thickness.  On  the  outside  the 
walls  have,  in  some  places,  been  cleared  nearly 
to  the  foundations;  but  the  interior  is  filled 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  305 

with  rubbish,  in  some  parts  almost  to  the  sum- 
mit. One  portion  of  the  wall  has  been  split 
into  three  parts,  and  overthrown  as  if  by  an 
earthquake.  Some  detached  walls  of  the  same 
kind,  standing  at  different  distances,  show  that 
what  remains  is  but  a  small  part  of  the  original 
fabric.  The  Kasr  is  by  far  the  most  perfect  of 
all  the  ruins,  and  possesses  a  strong  interest, 
from  the  probability  of  its  being  the  sole  re- 
mains of  the  magnificent  palace  in  which  Ne- 
buchadnezzar reigned  and  Daniel  prophesied, 
upon  whose  walls  the  hand  of  the  Lord  in- 
scribed in  mystic  characters  the  doom  of  Baby- 
lon, and  within  whose  precincts  Cyrus  and 
Alexander  entered  as  conquerors. 

A  mile  to  the  north  of  the  Kasr,  and  full  five 
miles  distant  from  Hillah,  is  the  mound  of  ruins 
called  Mujelib^,  which  signifies  "  the  overturn- 
ed." It  is  of  an  oblong  shape,  and  its  height, 
as  well  as  the  measurement  of  its  sides,  is  very 
irregular ;  the  northern  side  measures  at  the 
base  six  hundred  feet,  the  southern  six  hundred 
and  fifty-seven,  the  eastern  five  hundred  and 
eighty-four,  and  the  western  four  hundred  and 
eight.  Mr.  Rich,  in  1811,  estimated  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  highest  angle  at  one  hundred  and 
forty-one  feet ;  but  Mr.  Ryal,  in  1839,  states,  as 
the  result  of  a  trigonometrical  survey  of  the  ruins, 
20 


306  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

undertaken  by  the  officers  of  the  British  steamer 
Euphrates,  then  lying  in  the  Tigris,  that  the 
height  of  the  most  elevated  part  of  the  Mujelibe 
was  not  then  more  than  eighty  feet.  The  summit 
presents  a  broad,  uneven  surface,  and  is  covered 
with  heaps  of  rubbish,  in  digging  into  some  of 
which,  layers  of  broken  burned  brick,  cement- 
ed with  mortar,  are  discovered,  and  here  and 
there  whole  bricks,  with  inscriptions  on  them, 
are  found.  The  mass  of  the  structure  is  com- 
posed of  bricks  dried  in  the  sun,  and  mixed 
Avith  broken  straw  or  reeds  in  the  preparation. 
The  outer  edges  of  the  bricks  having  moulder- 
ed away,  it  is  only  on  a  minute  inspection  that 
the  nature  of  the  materials  can  be  discovered. 
When  viewed  from  a  distance  the  ruin  has  more 
the  appearance  of  a  small  hill  than  a  building ; 
and  the  ascent  is  in  some  parts  so  gentle  that  a 
person  may  ride  over  it.  Some  human  skele- 
tons, enclosed  in  coffins,  have  been  discovered 
in  this  ruin ;  these,  when  found,  were  in  a  high 
state  of  preservation,  but  crumbled  into  dust 
soon  after  their  exposure  to  the  air.  The  sur- 
face of  the  mound  is  covered  with  innumerable 
fragments  of  pottery,  brick,  bitumen,  pebbles, 
vitrified  brick,  and  even  shells,  bits  of  glass, 
and  mother-of-pearl.  In  the  sides  deep  ravines 
have  been  sunk  by  the  periodical  rains,  and 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  307 

there  are  numerous  long  narrow  cavities  or  pas- 
sages, now  the  resort  of  wild  beasts.  This 
mound,  unlike  those  we  have  before  described, 
appears  to  be  the  remains  of  a  single  building, 
which  in  its  original  state  must  have  been  ono 
of  the  most  enormous  masses  of  brick-work 
ever  erected  by  the  hand  of  man.  What  was 
the  original  destination  of  the  Mujelibe,  it  is 
now  impossible  to  determine  ;  some  suppose  it 
to  have  been  the  citadel  or  fortress  which  guard- 
ed this  quarter  of  the  city ;  others  imagine  it  to 
be  the  remains  of  the  celebrated  hanging-gar- 
dens ;  while  another  party  have  claimed  it  to 
be  the  site  of  the  temple  of  Belus.  The  lat 
ter  distinction  is  now,  however,  pretty  gene- 
rally conceded  to  the  ruin  called  the  Birs 
Nimrood. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  river  there  are 
no  ruins  of  any  consequence  except  the  Birs 
Nimrood,  (the  tower  of  Nimrod,)  which  stands 
about  six  miles  from  the  banks ;  and  is  about 
ten  miles  south-west  from  the  Mujelibe.  It 
is  the  most  interesting  and  remarkable  of  all 
the  Babylonian  remains,  being,  both  in  magni- 
tude and  construction,  far  superior  to  the  Mu- 
jelibe. This  huge  mass  of  building  is  of  an 
oblong  shape,  and  at  its  base  measures  two 
thousand  two  hundred  and   eighty-six  feet  in 


308 


SCKIPTURE    PROPHECY. 


circumference.  At  the  eastern  side  it  is  not 
more  than  fifty  or  sixty  feet  high ;  but  on  the 
western  it  rises  from  the  plain  in  a  pyramidal 
form  to  the  elevation  of  one  hundred  and  nine- 
ty-eight feet,  and  on  its  summit  is  a  solid  pile 


of  brick,  thirty-seven  feet  high  by  twenty-eight 
in  breadth,  diminishing  in  thickness  to  the  top, 
which  is  broken  and  irregular,  and  rent  by  a 
large  fissure  extending  through  a  third  of  its 
height ;  the  entire  height  of  the  ruin  on  the 
western  side  is  therefore  two  hundred  and  thir- 
ty-five feet.  It  is  principally  constructed  of 
furnace-burned  bricks,  and  appears  to  have  been 
a  solid  structure  built  in  receding  stages  ;  traces 
of  three  of  these  stages  are  discernible  in  the 
mound,  and  the  mass  of  brick-work  on  its  sum- 
mit, which  Mr.  Rich  tells  us  is  of  the  finest 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  309 

masonry,  was  evidently  the  facing  of  a  fourth 
stage.  Every  one  who  sees  the  Birs  Nimrood, 
feels  at  once  that  of  all  masses  of  ruin  found 
in  this  region,  there  is  no  other  which  both 
in  form  and  dimensions  so  nearly  corres- 
ponds with  the  accounts  furnished  by  ancient 
writers  respecting  the  temple  of  Belus.  That 
building,  according  to  these  accounts,  consisted 
of  eight  successive  stages  rising  to  the  height 
of  five  hundred  feet ;  this  rain  comprises  four 
such  stages  (the  latter  imperfect)  with  an  ele- 
vation of  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet.  The 
temple  of  Belus,  too,  is  said  to  have  measured 
five  hundred  feet  on  each  side  at  the  base, 
making  its  circumference  two  thousand  feet ; 
the  circumference  of  the  Birs  Nimrood  is  two 
thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-six  feet.  The 
difference  between  the  two  is  easily  accounted 
for  by  the  enlargement  which  the  base  of  the 
ruin  has  undergone  from  the  fall  of  the  crumb- 
ling materials  from  the  summit.  We  have  al- 
ready suggested*  the  probable  identity  of  the 
temple  of  Belus  and  the  original  tower  of  Ba- 
bel. If  that  first  building  begun  by  the  nations 
has  not  altogether  vanished  from  the  earth, 
there  can,  we  think,  be  little  doubt  that  its  re- 
mains are  to  be  seen  in  the  Birs  Nimrood. 
*See  page  261. 


310  SCRIPTTJRE    PROPHECY. 

On  the  summit  of  this  momid  are  seen  im- 
mense unshapen  fragments  of  molten  walls  and 
vitrified  masonry,  some  of  which  measured 
twelve  feet  in  length,  and  twenty-four  in  cir- 
cumference. In  most  of  them  the  regular  lines 
of  cement  are  perfectly  discernible,  and  so  har- 
dened in  common  with  the  bricks,  that  when 
the  masses  are  struck  they  ring  like  glass. 
They  are  as  hard  as  granite,  and  if  seen  near 
a  factory,  might  be  taken  for  smelted  ore.  They 
bore  ample  evidence  that  the  pile  had  been  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  and  must  have  been  laid  waste 
by  a  great  and  most  consuming  conflagration. 
The  heat  of  the  fire  which  produced  such  amaz- 
ing effects  must  have  burned  with  the  force  of 
the  strongest  furnace ;  and  from  the  general 
appearance  of  the  cleft  in  the  wall,  and  these 
vitrified  masses,  Mr.  Porter  is  of  opinion  that 
the  catastrophe  was  produced  by  lightning  from 
heaven.  Ruins  occasioned  by  the  explosion 
of  any  combustible  matter  would  have  exhibited 
very  different  appearances.*  It  cannot  now 
be  seen  without  recollecting  the  emphatic  pro- 
phecy of  Jeremiah, — "  I  will  roll  thee  down 
from  the  rocks,  and  will  make  thee  a  burned 
mountainy\ 

*  Rich — Ryal — ^Mignan — Porter, 
t  Jeremiah  li,  25. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  311 

The  aspect  of  the  Birs  Nimrood  is  sublime 
even  in  its  ruins.  Towering  above  the  desert, 
it  still  rears  its  shattered  summit  to  the  hea- 
vens, and  seems  in  the  distance  like  a  hill  sur- 
mounted with  a  tower.  There  are  no  remains 
in  its  neighbourhood  of  sufficient  magnitude  to 
detract  from  its  appearance.  It  stands  alone, 
as  it  were,  in  the  midst  of  a  solitary  waste, 
"like  the  awful  figure  of  prophecy  herself, 
pointing  to  the  fulfilment  of  her  own  predic- 
tions." 

Babylon  is  fallen  !  and  in  her  fall  has 
added  another  to  the  sad  catalogue  of  those  who, 
hardening  themselves  against  the  Lord,  have 
not  prospered,  (Job  ix,  4.)  Not  one  word  of 
the  prophecies  pronounced  against  her  has  fail- 
ed of  its  accomplishment.  She  is  become  a 
desolation  and  an  astonishment;  "  a  place  which 
the  foot  of  man  seldom  traverses,  which  the 
*  wild  beasts  of  the  desert'  make  their  home, 
and  none  but  the  *  doleful  creatures'  of  the  earth 
inhabit."  Her  proud  millions  have  been  "  car- 
ried away  as  with  a  flood ;"  and  the  cry  of  the 
jackal,  and  the  screech  of  the  owl  alone  "  scare 
aflfrighted  silence  from  the  walls  "  which  once 
resounded  with  the  din  of  business  and  the 
noise   of   festivity.      The    "  golden  city"  has 


312  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

ceased;  the  "beauty  of  the  Chaldees'  excel- 
lency" is  departed  ; 

"  And  Babylon  that  walk'd  in  pride 
Now  sleeps  a  shapeless  ruin." 

From  this  melancholy  scene  "  we  may  draw 
a  right  image  of  the  frailty  of  man,  and  the  mu- 
tability of  whatever  is  worldly  ;  and  learn  that 
as  there  is  nothing  unchangeable  saving  God, 
so  nothing  is  stable  but  by  his  grace  and  pro- 
tection."* 

*  Sandys. 


SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY.  313 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    PROHECIES    CONCERNING   TYRE. 

Account  of  Phenicia — Tyre  a  Phenician  city— Its  situation,  ori- 
gin, and  antiquity — It  comprised  two  cities  ;  one  on  an  island,  and 
the  other  on  the  continent — Its  commercial  advantages — Its  pros- 
perous state  in  the  time  of  the  prophets— Reasons  why  the  judg- 
ments of  God  were  denounced  against  it — Continental  Tyre  is, 
according  to  the  prophecy,  taken  and  destroyed  by  Nebuchadnez- 
zar—The inhabitants  escape  to  the  insular  town — The  prosperity 
of  the  Tyrians  is  restored  at  the  expiration  of  seventy  years — In- 
sular Tyre  besieged  and  taken  by  Alexander — Particulars  of  the 
siege— It  again  becomes  a  place  of  importance— Prediction  that 
Tyre  should  be  converted  to  the  true  religion— Fulfilment  of  this 
prediction— Prophecies  of  the  utter  desolation  of  Tyre— Fulfilment 
of  these  prophecies,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Sandys,  Maun- 
drell,  Shaw,  Volney,  Joliflfe,  Hardy,  Robinson,  and  Olin. 

Tyre  is  a  name  which  revives  the  grandest 
recollections.  It  was  the  most  celebrated  city 
of  Phoenicia,  and,  for  a  long  series  of  years, 
the  greatest  commercial  emporium  of  the  world. 
"  To  the  Christian,  its  history  is  especially  in- 
teresting, from  its  connection  with  prophecy, 
and  from  the  striking  eloquence  with  which 
inspiration  has  described  the  majesty  of  its 
brighter  days,  and  the  impressive  circum- 
stances of  its  destruction."* 

Phoenicia,  even  in  its  most  flourishing  state, 
was  one  of  the  smallest  countries  of  antiquity. 
*  Hardy. 


314  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

It  comprised  that  part  of  the  Syrian  coast  ex- 
tending from.  Tyre  to  Aradus,  (the  Arvad  of 
Scripture,)  a  narrow  strip  of  land  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  in  length  from  north 
to  south;  and  probably  nowhere  more  than 
eighteen  or  twenty  miles  in  width.  The  space 
between  Tyre  and  Arvad  was  occupied  by 
several  other  towns  and  cities,  all  of  which 
were  distinguished  for  their  arts,  manufactures, 
and  commerce.  Of  these  places,  the  most 
eminent  were  Sidon,  Sarepta,  Beritus,  (the 
modern  Beyroot,)  Byblus,  (the  Gebal  of  Scrip- 
ture,) and  Tripolis.  The  line  of  coast,  thus 
studded  with  flourishing  cities,  "  with  its  har- 
bours and  sea-ports,  and  the  numerous  fleets 
lying  within  them,  must  have  aflbrded  alto- 
gether a  spectacle  scarcely  to  be  equalled  in 
the  world,  and  must  have  excited  in  the  stran- 
ger who  visited  them  the  highest  idea  of  the 
opulence,  the  power,  and  the  enterprising  spi- 
nt  of  their  inhabitants."* 

The  most  ancient  of  these  cities  was  Sidon 
which  was  the  foundress  of  the  trade  and  na- 
vigation of  the  Phoenicians.  This  city  is  gene- 
rally supposed  to  have  received  its  name  from, 
and  to  have  been  founded  by,  Sidon,  who  was 
the  eldest  son  of  Canaan,  the  grandson  of 
*  Heeren. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECy.  315 

Noah.  Gen.  x,  15.  But  if  this  city  was  founded 
by  Sidon,  his  descendants  were  driven  out  by 
the  Phoenicians,*  who  there  laid  the  foundation 
of  their  future  greatness  and  prosperity.  Tyre 
was  founded  by  a  colony  from  Sidon,  and  is 
therefore  called,  in  Isaiah  xxiii,  12, "  the  daugh- 
ter of  Sidon."  "Aradus  was  founded  by  an- 
other colony  from  Sidon ;  and  Tripolis,  as  its 
name  imports,!  was  a  common  colony  of  the 
three  cities  of  Sidon,  Tyre,  and  Aradus."J 

The  country  of  Phoenicia  never  became,  in 
the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  one  state.  The 
larger  cities  were  always,  so  far  as  their  inter- 
nal government  was  concerned,  perfectly  inde- 
pendent of  each  other ;  and,  in  every  period  of 

*  The  Phoenicians  were  not  Canaanites.  Heeren  sup- 
poses them  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  Aramenian  branch 
of  the  family  of  Shem,  (Gen.  x,  22,)  "  who,  at  an  epoch 
beyond  the  reach  of  history,  occupied  the  extensive  plains 
between  the  Mediterranean  Sea  and  the  river  Tigris,  the 
most  southern  point  of  Arabia  and  the  Caucasian  Moun- 
tains, and  whose  common  descent  is  fully  proved  by  the 
use  of  one  principal  language,  divided  into  various  dia- 
lects." "  They  [the  Phoenicians]  were  probably  not  a 
distinct  people,  but  composed  of  Syrian  tribes  who  had 
settled  on  the  coasts :  in  no  ancient  writer  are  they  ever 
found  distinguished  by  name  from  them." 

t  Tripolis  signifies  the  city  of  three ;  being  composed  of 
the  Greek  words  TgLOf  three^  and  TroAif,  city, 

t  Heeren. 


316  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

their  history,  they  are  always  spoken  of  as  se- 
parate states.  Thus,  in  Jer.  xxvii,  3,  and  in 
other  passages  of  Scripture,  we  read  of  "the 
king  of  Sidon,"  and  "  the  king  of  Tyre  ;"  and 
from  heathen  writers  we  learn  also  that  Byb- 
lus  and  Aradus  had  their  separate  kings.  The 
smaller  cities  appear  to  have  been  dependen- 
cies to  the  larger  ones ;  thus,  in  1  Kings  xvii, 
9,  Sarepta  is  mentioned  as  belonging  to  Sidon. 
But  although  the  cities  of  Phoenicia  were  thus 
independent  of  each  other  in  their  internal 
government,  they  seem  to  have  been  at  the 
same  time  united  in  one  confederation,  at  the 
head  of  which  originally  stood  Sidon,  and 
afterward  Tyre.  That  Tyre,  during  its  most 
flourishing  period,  was  the  dominant  city  of 
Phoenicia,  appears  from  Ezekiel  xxvii,  8-11, 
where  Sidon,  Gebal,  and  Arvath  are  spoken  of 
as  her  allies,  and  as  furnishing  her  with  their 
contingents  of  mariners  and  soldiers;  and  as 
Sidon,  next  to  Tyre,  was  the  largest,  and  Ar- 
vath was  the  most  distant  of  the  Phoenician 
cities,  it  is  evident  that  the  supremacy  of  Tyre 
must  at  that  time  have  been  acknowledged  by 
them  all. 

For  the  convenience  of  their  trade,  the  Phoe- 
nicians planted  in  every  quarter,  but  especially 
on  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean,  numerous 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  317 

colonies,  of  which  XJtica,  Cadiz,  and  Carthage 
the  rival  of  Rome,  were  the  most  distin- 
guished. By  means  of  these  settlements  they 
peaceably  spread  themselves  in  different  parts 
of  the  earth ;  and  by  their  commerce,  extend- 
ing even  beyond  these,  and  by  their  many 
great  inventions  and  discoveries,  particularly 
that  of  alphabetical  writing,  they  exercised  a 
vast  influence  in  the  civilization  of  mankind. 
"  No  overthrown  cities  and  desolated  countries 
marked  their  progress;  but  a  long  series  of 
flourishing  colonies,  agriculture  and  the  arts 
of  peace  among  the  formerly  rude  barbarians, 
pointed  out  the  victorious  career  of  the  mer- 
chants of  Tyre."* 

Tyre  was  situated  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean,  about  twenty  miles  south  of 
Sidon,  one  hundred  north  of  Jerusalem,  and 
seventy  south-west  of  Damascus.  It  was  com- 
prised within  the  limits  of  the  Promised  Land, 
and  assigned  to  the  tribe  of  Asher,  but  it  does 
not  appear  that  the  Israelites  ever  possessed 
themselves  of  it. 

In  Isaiah  xxxiii,  12,  Tyre  is  called  the 
•*  daughter  of  Sidon,"  having  been  founded  by 
a  colony  from  thence.  The  period  of  its  found- 
ation is,  however,  uncertain.     Josephus  states, 

*  Heeren. 


318  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

that  about  two  hundred  and  forty  years  before 
the  building  of  Solomon's  temple,  Sidon  being 
besieged  by  the  Philistines  of  Askelon,  many 
of  the  inhabitants  escaped  thence  in  their 
ships,  and  built  Tyre.  But  Joshua  mentions  Tyre 
as  a  "  strong  city,"  more  than  two  hundred  years 
prior  to  the  time  spoken  of  by  Josephus.  Josh, 
xix,  29.  "  Dr.  Hales  conjectures  that  Jose- 
phus must  have  written  twelve  hundred  and 
forty,  and  that  the  numerical  letter,  denoting  a 
thousand,  had  fallen  from  the  text,  or  had  been 
omitted  by  the  carelessness  of  a  transcriber 
This  amendment  would  carry  back  the  begin- 
ning of  Tyre  to  B.  C.  2267,  a  conclusion  which 
is  supported  by  every  appearance  of  proba- 
bility. That  Tyre  possessed  a  very  high  an- 
tiquity is  rendered  manifest  by  several  allu- 
sions to  it  in  the  books  of  the  prophets,  as  a 
place  which  was  very  old  in  their  time.  Isaiah 
not  only  describes  it  as  a  *  mart  of  nations,' 
but,  in  anticipating  its  downfall,  he  exclaims, 
'  Is  this  your  joyous  city,  whose  antiquity  is 
of  ancient  days  V  "* 

There  were,  however,  two  Tyres  ;  or  rather, 
Tyre  itself  consisted  of  two  cities,  one  of 
which  stood  on  a  small,  rocky  island,  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  main  land,  and  the  other 

*  Russell's  Connection  of  Sacred  and  Profane  History. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  319 

on  the  opposite  shore.  Should,  therefore,  Dr. 
Hales'  proposed  emendation  of  the  text  of  Jo- 
sephus  not  be  admitted,  the  discrepancy  be- 
tween the  account  given  by  the  Jewish  histo- 
rian and  that  contained  in  Joshua,  may  be 
reconciled  by  supposing  one  of  these  to  refer 
to  the  town  on  the  island,  and  the  other  to  that 
on  the  continent. 

Of  the  two  cities,  the  one  on  the  rock  was 
certainly  the  more  ancient,  as  from  thence  the 
place  derived  its  name,  the  word  Tyre  sig- 
nifying a  rock.  But  though  continental  Tyre 
was  the  last  founded,  it  was,  from  its  more 
commodious  situation,  the  first  to  rise  to  dis- 
tinction. Insular  Tyre,  on  the  contrary, 
attained  but  little  celebrity  until  after  the  de- 
struction of  the  continental  city,  which  is, 
therefore,  commonly  called  old  Tyre. 

Tyre,  although  the  "daughter  of  Sidon," 
soon  eclipsed  that  city  itself  in  commercial 
wealth  and  political  importance.  Of  all  ancient 
cities,  Tyre  was  probably  the  most  favourably 
situated  for  maritime  commerce.  It  possessed, 
at  one  time,  the  best  harbour  on  the  Mediterra- 
nean coast ;  and  was  the  natural  outlet  through 
which  the  rich  productions  brought  from  India 
by  way  of  Babylon,  Palmyra,  and  Damascus, 
passed  on  their  way  to  Europe.   Its  inhabitants 


320  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

acquired  an  early  pre-eminence  in  arts,  ma- 
nufactures, and  commerce,  and  were,  perhaps, 
the  most  industrious  and  enterprising  people 
the  world  has  yet  seen.  They  pushed  their 
commercial  dealings  to  the  extremities  of  the 
then  known  world,  and  raised  their  city  to  a 
rank  in  power  and  opulence  before  unknown. 
The  three  quarters  of  the  world  wafted  wealth 
into  its  port,  and  people  of  all  languages 
thronged  its  streets.  No  city,  before  or  since, 
has  centred  within  itself,  as  Tyre  did,  the  trade 
of  all  nations,  and  held  an  absolute  monopoly, 
not  only  of  one,  but  of  almost  every  branch  of 
commerce.  For  a  long  period,  not  a  single 
production  of  the  East  passed  to  the  West,  or 
of  the  West  to  the  East  but  by  the  merchants 
of  Tyre ;  nor  for  many  ages  were  any  ships 
but  those  of  Tyre  daring  enough  to  pass  the 
straits  of  the  Red  Sea  on  the  one  side,  or  of 
the  Mediterranean  on  the  other.  She  claimed 
the  ocean  as  her  peculiar  dominion,  and  styled 
herself  "Queen  of  the  Seas,"  a  title  which 
seemed  justly  due  to  her,  as  she  first  taught 
the  art  of  braving  its  tempests,  and  navigating 
its  surface.  While  the  mariners  of  other 
countries  were  groping  along  their  coasts, 
clinging  to  their  landmarks,  and  frightened  at 
a  breeze,  the  seamen  of  Tyre  feared  to  under- 


bCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  321 

take  no  voyage  which  the  state  of  nautical  sci- 
ence at  that  time  rendered  practicable.  "  They 
carried  the  art  of  navigation  to  the  highest  point 
of  perfection  of  which  it  was  then  capable. 
Their  numerous  fleets  were  scattered  over  the 
Indian  and  Atlantic  Oceans,  and  the  Tyrian 
pennant  waved  at  the  same  time  on  the  coasts 
of  Britain  and  on  the  shores  of  Ceylon."* 

Such  was  the  flourishing  condition  of  Tyre 
at  the  time  when  the  prophets  foretold  its  utter 
desolation.  And  these  accounts  of  its  riches 
and  greatness  are  confirmed  by  the  testimony 
of  Scripture.     Isaiah  calls  her 

"  A  mart  of  nations, 
The  crowning  city. 
Whose  merchants  are  princes, 
And  her  traffickers  the  honourable  of  the  earth." 
Isaiah  xxiii,  3,  8. 

And  Ezekiel  says  of  her, 

"  O  thou  that  art  situate  at  the  entry  of  the  sea, 
Which  art  a  merchant  for  the  people  of  many  isles, 
O  Tyrus,  thou  hast  said,  '  I  am  of  perfect  beauty.' 
Thy  borders  are  in  the  midst  of  the  seas, 
Thy  builders  have  perfected  thy  beauty." 

EzEK.  xxvii,  3,  4. 

After  thus  addressing  her,  he  proceeds  to  do- 
tail,  with  great  minuteness,  the   nations   and 

*  Heeren. 
21 


322  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

countries  with  whom  she  traded,  and  the  va- 
rious articles  with  which  they  supplied  her,  and 
for  which  they  received  the  wares  and  manu- 
factures of  the  Tyrians  in  return.  ^ 

Riches  and  magnificence  thus  flowing  in 
upon  the  city  from  every  side,  the  inhabitants 
became  lifted  up  with  pride,  and  this  was  one 
cause  of  its  destruction. 
"  Because  thou  hast  said,  *  I  am  a  god, 
I  sit  in  the  seat  of  God  in  the  midst  of  the  seas,* 
And  thine  heart  is  lifted  up  because  of  thy  riches ; 
Therefore,  thus  saith  the  Lord  God, 
Behold  I  will  bring  strangers  upon  thee, 
(The  terrible  of  the  nations  ;) 
And  they  shall  defile  thy  brightness. 
They  shall  bring  thee  down  to  the  pit." 

EzEK.  xxviii,  2-8. 
"  The  Lord  of  hosts  hath  purposed  it. 
To  stain  the  pride  of  all  glory. 

And  to  bring  into  contempt  all  the  honourable  of  the 
earth."  Isaiah  xxiii,  9. 

Another  reason  for  the  judgments  denounced 
against  them,  was  their  cruelty  to  the  Israelites 
in  selling  them  into  slavery,  Joel  iii,  5 ;  and 
Ezekiel  begins  his  prophecy  against  them  with 
a  declaration  that  it  was  in  consequence  of 
their  exultation  over  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  when 
it  was  destroyed  by  Nebuchadnezzar. 
"  Because  that  Tyrus  hath  said  against  Jerusalem, 
*  Aha  I  she  is  broken  that  was  the  gates  of  the  people, 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  323 

She  is  turned  unto  me, 
I  shall  be  replenished  now  she  is  laid  waste  ;' 
Therefore,  thus  saith  the  Lord  God, 
Behold,  I  am  against  thee,  0  Tyms  ! 
And  will  cause  many  nations  to  come  up  against  thee, 
As  the  sea  causeth  his  waves  to  come  up. 
And  they  shall  destroy  the  walls  of  Tyrus, 
And  break  down  her  towers  ; 
I  will  also  scrape  her  dust  from  her, 
And  make  her  like  the  top  of  a  rock. 
It  shall  be  a  place  for  the  spreading  of  nets  in  the  midst 
of  the  sea."  Ezekiel  xxvi,  2-5. 

This  prediction  refers  to  both  continental  and 
insular  Tyre,  and  embraces  the  whole  series 
of  events  by  which  that  mighty  city  was  re- 
duced to  utter  desolation  :  for  Tyre  was  not  to 
be  destroyed  at  once  ;  "  many  nations"  were  to 
come  up  against  it  before  its  final  destruction 
was  effected. 

To  insert  in  full  all  the  prophecies  respect- 
ing Tyre  would  occupy  too  much  space.  They 
are  contained  in  Isaiah  xxiii ;  Amos  i,  9,  10; 
Joel  iii,  4-8  ;  Ezekiel  xxvi,  xxvii,  xxviii ;  and 
Zech.  ix,  3,  4.  By  a  careful  collation  and 
comparison  of  them,  we  shall  find  that  they  em- 
brace the  following  particulars  : — That  the  city 
should  be  taken  and  destroyed  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, king  of  Babylon ; — that  at  the  end  of 
seventy  years  the  people  should  recover  their 


324  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

liberty,  and  be  restored  to  their  gains  and  mer- 
chandize ; — that  Tyre  should  a  second  time 
be  taken  and  destroyed ; — that  the  inhabitants 
should  at  one  period  forsake  their  idols,  and  be- 
come worshippers  of  the  true  God  ; — and  that, 
finally,  the  city  should  be  totally  destroyed,  and 
become  a  place  only  for  fishers  to  spread  their 
nb.'s  upon.  We  will  now  proceed  to  exhibit 
the  accomplishment  of  these  predictions  in  the 
subsequent  history  of  Tyre. 

The  dty  was  to  he  taken  and  destroyed  hy  Ne- 
buchadnezzar, king  of  Babylon. — Enterprise  and 
industry  were  not  the  only  virtues  of  the  Tyri- 
ans ;  they  had  an  undoubted  claim  to  valour  of  no 
common  order.  Though  possessing  scarcely 
any  territory  beyond  the  walls  of  their  city,  yet, 
up  to  the  time  of  Ezekiel,  they  had  maintained 
their  liberties  inviolate,  and  had  never  been 
conquered  by  any  nation.  Salmanaser,  king 
of  Assyria,  then  the  greatest  monarch  of  the 
East,  after  he  had  subdued  the  Israelites  and 
carried  the  ten  tribes  into  captivity,  turned  his 
arms  against  Tyre.  He  first  attacked  it  by  sea  ; 
but  the  Tyrians  having,  with  only  twelve  ships, 
beaten  his  fleet  of  sixty,  he  would  not  again 
venture  to  cope  with  them  on  that  element ;  he 
therefore  turned  the  war  into  a  siege,  and  left 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  325 

an  army  to  blockade  the  city  ;  but,  though  they 
remained  before  it  five  years,  they  were  unable 
to  take  it.  It  was  about  this  time  that  Isaiah 
foretold  the  miserable  overthrow  of  Tyre  by 
the  Chaldeans,  or  Babylonians,  who  were  then 
an  insignificant  people,  subject  to  the  Assy- 
rians. One  hundred  and  twenty  years  after, 
Ezekiel  expressly  declared  that  it  should  be 
destroyed  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  was  then 
king  of  Babylon. 
"  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God, 

Behold,  I  will  bring  upon  Tyrus 

Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon, 

With  horses,  and  with  chariots, 

And  with  horsemen,  and  companies,  and  much  people. 

And  he  shall  make  a  fort  against  thee, 

And  cast  a  mount  against  thee. 

And  lift  up  the  buckler  against  thee. 

And  he  shall  set  engines  of  war  against  thy  walls, 

And  with  his  axes  he  shall  break  down  thy  towers. 

He  shall  slay  thy  people  with  the  sword. 

And  thy  strong  garrisons  shall  go  down  to  the  ground.'* 

EzEK.  xxvi,  7-11. 
This  prediction  was  delivered  soon  after  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans,  and 
about  two  years  after  that  event  Nebuchadnez- 
zar laid  siege  to  Tyre ;  but  such  was  the 
strength  of  the  place  that  it  was  thirteen  years 
before  he  was  able  to  take  it.  In  the  language 
of  Ezekiel,  (xxix,  18,)  he  "  caused  his  army 


326  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

to  serve  a  great  service  against  Tjniis :  every 
head  was  made  bald,  and  every  shoulder  was 
peeled  ;  yet  had  he  no  wages,  nor  his  army,  for 
Tyrus,  for  the  great  service  that  he  had  served 
against  it ;"  for  the  inhabitants,  when  they  saw 
that  the  works  for  carrying  on  the  siege  were 
perfected,  and  that  the  foundations  of  the  walls 
were  shaken  by  the  battering  of  the  rams,  had, 
the  greater  part  of  them,  taken  to  their  ships,  and 
conveyed  themselves,  with  their  most  valuable 
effects,  to  the  insular  town,  and  to  other  places 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  conqueror ;  so  that  Ne- 
buchadnezzar, when  at  last  he  succeeded  in 
taking  the  city,  found  himself  no  gainer  by  the 
expedition.  Irritated  by  his  disappointment,  he 
wreaked  his  anger  upon  the  buildings  and  the 
few  inhabitants  left  in  them,  razing  the  city  to 
the  ground,  and  slaying  all  he  found  therein. 

At  the  end  of  seventy  years  the  people  were  to 
recover  their  liberty  and  he  restored  to  their  gains 
and  merchandize. — The  subjection  of  the  Ty- 
rians  for  the  space  of  seventy  years,  and  the 
restoration  of  their  prosperity  at  the  end  of  that 
period,  was  foretold  by  Isaiah  in  the  following 
words : — 

"  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 
That  Tyre  shall  be  forgotten  seventy  years, 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  327 

According  to  the  days  of  one  king ; 

And  it  shall  come  to  pass  after  the  end  of  seventy 

years, 
That  the  Lord  will  visit  Tyre, 
And  she  shall  turn  to  her  hire, 
And  shall  commit  fornication  with  all  the  kingdoms 

of  the  world."  Isaiah  xxiii,  15,  17. 

This  prediction  refers  to  the  interests  of 
the  Tyrians  and  not  to  the  identical  city  which 
was  destroyed  by  Nebuchadnezzar ;  for  conti- 
nental Tyre  was  never  rebuilt,  the  inhabitants 
who  escaped  from  thence  fixing  themselves 
permanently  in  the  insular  town,  which  is  the 
Tyre  afterward  spoken  of  in  history.  But 
though  the  Tyrians,  by  their  flight,  escaped  the 
destruction  meditated  against  them  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, yet  they  found  it  necessary  in  their 
new  abode  to  come  to  terms  with  the  conqueror  ; 
and  accordingly  they  became  tributary  to  the 
Assyrians,  and  Tyre  was  governed  by  magis 
trates  or  judges  appointed  by  the  king  of 
Babylon. 

This  state  of  vassalage  was  to  continue  "  se- 
venty years,  according  to  the  days  of  one  king," 
that  is,  of  one  kingdom.  "  Nebuchadnezzar  be- 
gan his  conquests  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign  ; 
from  thence  to  the  taking  of  Babylon  by  the 
Persians,  under  Cyrus,  are  seventy  years,  at 
which  time  the  nations  conquered  by  Nebu- 


328  SCRIPtURE   PROPHECY. 

chadnezzar  were  to  be  restored  to  liberty. 
These  seventy  years  limit  the  duration  of  the 
Babylonish  monarchy.  Tyre  was  taken  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  about  the  middle  of  that  pe- 
riod, so  did  not  serve  the  king  of  Babylon  dur- 
ing the  whole  of  that  period,  but  only  for  the 
remaining  part  of  it.  This  seems  to  be  the 
meaning  of  Isaiah — the  days  allotted  to  the 
'  one  king,'  or  kingdom,  are  seventy  years ;  Tyre, 
with  the  rest  of  the  conquered  nations,  shall 
continue  in  a  state  of  subjection  to  the  end  of 
that  period.  Not  from  the  beginning  and  through 
the  whole  of  the  period ;  for,  being  one  of  the 
latest  conquests,  the  duration  of  that  state  of 
subjection  in  regard  to  her,  was  not  much  more 
than  half  of  it.  *  All  these  nations,'  said  Jere- 
miah, *  shall  serve  the  king  of  Babylon  seventy 
years,'  Jer.  xxv,  11.  Some  of  them  were  con- 
quered sooner,  some  later ;  but  the  end  of  this 
period  was  the  common  term  for  the  deliver- 
ance of  them  all."* 

The  Babylonish  empire  being  then  subvert- 
ed, the  Tyrians,  with  some  other  remote  na- 
tions, were  restored  to  comparative  independ- 
ence by  the  Persians.  "  They  seem  then  to 
have  been  allowed  the  entire  management  of 
their  own  affairs  with  the  only  discoverable 
*  Bishop  Lowth. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  329 

limitation,  that  they  were  required  to  furnish 
subsidies  and  vessels  to  the  Persians  when 
called  upon  to  do  so.  Accordingly  they  did 
render  them  very  valuable  assistance  in  the 
famous  war  of  Xerxes  against  the  Greeks  ;  and 
Herodotus  particularly  mentions  the  kings  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  as  present  at  the  council  of 
war  held  by  the  Persian  monarch."* 

Under  the  Persians,  the  people  of  Tyre  re- 
covered much  of  their  former  wealth  and  im- 
portance,! and  their  city  again  became  a  mart 
of  universal  merchandise.  When  the  Jews 
were  rebuilding  Jerusalem,  the  Tyrians  furnish- 
ed workmen  and  procured  the  timber  for  the 
temple,  thus  assisting  Ezra  in  the  erection  of  the 
second  temple,  as  they  had  formerly  assisted 
Solomon  in  building  the  first.  Ezra  iii,  7. 

But  with  the  recovery  of  its  former  credit, 
Tyre  at  the  same  time  resumed  its  former  vices  ; 
and  since  the  people  had  not  profited  by  the 
first  lesson  which  God  had  given  them,  by  the 

*  Pictorial  Bible. 

t  In  point  of  size  insular  Tyre  was  far  inferior  to  the 
old  city,  the  rock  upon  which  it  was  built  being  not  more 
than  three  miles  in  circumference;  upon  this  confined 
space,  however,  a  large  population  existed,  as  the  inha- 
bitants made  amends  for  their  want  of  space  by  the  lofti- 
ness of  their  houses. 


1 


330  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

hands  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  but  still  inflated 
themselves  with  ideas  of  their  own  greatness,  a 
second  judgment  was  pronounced  against  them. 

It  was  foretold  that  Tyre  should  again  he  taken 
and  destroyed, — We  have  already  observed  that 
the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel  refers  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  insular  Tyre,  as  well  as  of  the  continental 
city.  This  is  clear  from  the  following  expres- 
sions, which  can  refer  only  to  the  city  on  the 
island  :  "  the  renowned  city  which  was  strong 
in  the  sea,"  xxvi,  17  ; — "what  city  is  like  unto 
Tyrus,  like  the  destroyed  in  the  midst  of  the 
sea  ?"  xxvii,  32  ; — "  thou  hast  said,  *  I  sit  in  the 
seat  of  God,  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,' "  xxviii,  2. 

But  the  most  direct  prophecy  respecting  in- 
sular Tyre,  is  that  of  Zechariah,  who  lived 
many  years  after  the  destruction  of  old  Tyre 
by  Nebuchadnezzar,*  and  who  thus  describes 
the  state  of  the  city  in  his  time,  and  the  terrible 
overthrow  which  awaited  her,  and  which  was 
accomplished  by  Alexander,  two  hundred  and 
forty  years  after  the  ruin  of  the  old  city. 
"  Tyrus  did  build  herself  a  strong  hold, 
And  heaped  up  silver  as  the  dust, 

*  Continental  Tyre  was  destroyed  by  Nebuchadnezzar 
in  the  year  573 B.C.;  and  Zechariah's  prophecy  respect- 
ing Tyre  is  supposed  to  have  been  delivered  about  the 
year  457  B.  C,  which  would  be  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
years  after  that  event. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  331 

And  fine  gold  as  the  mire  of  the  streets. 
Behold,  the  Lord  will  cast  her  out, 
And  he  will  smite  her  power  in  the  sea  ; 
And  she  shall  be  devoured  with  fire." 

Zech.  ix,  3, 4. 

It  was  indeed  a  "  strong  hold,"  being  surround- 
ed on  all  sides  by  the  sea,  as  with  a  moat  and 
a  girdle,  and  encircled  by  walls  and  fortifica- 
tions of  ^uch  height  and  strength  as  to  be 
scarcely  pregnable,  even  had  they  been  acces- 
sible. The  citizens  were  bold,  skilful,  and 
amply  supplied  with  arms,  engines,  and  other 
warlike  munitions,  and  so  great  were  its  re- 
sources, and  such  the  strength  of  its  position, 
that  it  withstood  the  power  of  Alexander's  arms 
longer  than  any  other  place  in  the  Persian  do- 
minions. 

The  occasion  of  its  being  attacked  by  Alex- 
ander was  as  follows : — ^After  the  battle  of  Is- 
sus,  Alexander  marched  with  his  army  along 
the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  toward  Egypt, 
receiving,  as  he  advanced,  the  unconditional 
submission  of  the  various  places  he  visited, 
until  he  came  to  Tyre.  But  the  Tyrians,  being 
more  desirous  to  have  peace  with  him  as  a 
friend  than  willing  to  submit  to  him  as  a  mas- 
ter, as  he  approached  the  city,  merely  sent  an 
embassy  to  him  bearing  a  present  to  himself 
and  provisions  for  his  troops,  and  assuring  him 


33S  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

of  their  good  wishes  toward  him.  Alexander 
received  the  ambassadors  with  honour,  and  an- 
nounced to  them  his  intention  to  visit  their  city ; 
but  the  inhabitants,  knowing  that  it  would  be 
dangerous  to  their  liberties  to  suffer  the  king 
with  his  army  to  enter  their  city,  and  imagining 
it  would  be  more  easy  to  exclude  than  to  expel 
their  royal  visiter,  refused  to  admit  him,  and 
sent  word  that  they  were  ready  to  perform 
whatever  Alexander  should  command  them,  but 
that  none,  either  Grecian  or  Macedonian,  should 
be  allowed  to  enter  their  gates. 

The  haughty  spirit  of  Alexander,  flushed 
with  so  many  victories,  was  ill  able  to  brook 
such  a  reply :  in  a  great  fury  he  commanded 
the  ambassadors  who  brought  it  to  return,  and 
resolved,  at  all  hazards,  to  reduce  the  city  to 
submission.  He  accordingly  made  preparations 
for  the  attack,  while  the  inhabitants,  with  equal 
vigour,  prepared  for  their  defence ;  and  "  the 
siege,  though  it  lasted  but  seven  months,  was 
one  of  the  most  sanguinary  conflicts,  on  both 
sides,  that  the  collision  of  human  passions  and 
of  human  interests  ever  produced." 

"  Apparently,  no  monarch  ever  undertook  a 
more  hopeless  task  than  the  capture  of  Tyre, 
with  the  means  of  offence  possessed  by  Alex- 
ander.    But  no  difficulties   could  daunt  him. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  333 

Without  a  single  ship,  and  in  the  face  of  a  for- 
midable navy,  he  prepared  to  take  an  island 
fortress  with  his  land  forces.  His  plan  was 
to  construct  a  mound  or  causeway,  from  the 
shore  to  the  city  walls,  erect  his  battering-rams 
on  the  western  end,  there  effect  a  breach,  and 
carry  the  town  by  storm."* 

The  arm  of  the  sea  which  separated  the  island 
from  the  continent  was  about  half  a  mile  wide  ; 
near  the  shore  the  water  was  shallow,  but  as 
it  approached  the  city  the  depth  increased  to 
about  eighteen  feet.  The  causeway  was  formed 
by  sinking  piles  into  the  sea,  and  filling  up  the 
intermediate  space  with  stones  and  earth.  For 
this  purpose  abundant  materials  were  found  in 
the  ruins  of  old  Tyre,  which  had  lain  scattered 
on  the  shore  for  two  hundred  and  forty  years ; 
its  stones,  timber,  and  even  the  very  rubbish, 
were  collected  ;  not  the  remnant  of  a  ruin  was 
left.  Thus  did  Alexander  complete  the  fulfil- 
ment of  Ezekiel's  predictions  respecting  the  old 
city,  by  laying  "  her  stones,  her  timber,  and  her 
dust  in  the  midst  of  the  water,"  Ezek.  xxvi,  12. 

The  activity  of  Alexander,  who  himself  su- 
perintended the  construction  of  the  mole,  was 
warmly  seconded  by  the  zeal  of  his  troops. 
The  work  proceeded  rapidly  at  first.  The  wa- 
*  Williams's  Life  of  Alexander. 


334  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

ters  were  shallow ;  the  loose,  sandy  soil,  easily 
allowed  the  piles  to  be  driven  through  to  the  solid 
strata  below  ;  and  being  yet  at  a  distance  from 
the  city,  the  workmen  went  on  without  inter- 
ruption. But  as  they  advanced  further  from  the 
shore,  the  difficulties  of  the  undertaking  became 
more  apparent,  because  the  sea  was  deeper,  the 
current  more  rapid,  and  the  annoyance  given 
by  the  enemy  more  effectual.  Darts  and  other 
missiles,  discharged  from  the  top  of  the  walls, 
reached  the  work  in  front,  and  vessels,  fitted 
out  for  the  purpose,  attacked  it  on  both  sides, 
so  that  the  workmen  found  it  difficult  to  carry 
on  their  labours  and  at  the  same  time  defend 
themselves.  Alexander  then  caused  two  wood- 
en towers  to  be  erected  on  the  extreme  end  of 
the  mole,  and  planted  his  engines  in  them.  The 
workmen  were  thus  protected  from  the  darts  of 
the  enemy,  and  not  only  so,  but  when  the  Ty- 
rians  attacked  them  from  their  ships,  they  beat 
them  back  from  these  towers. 

To  counteract  these  measures,  the  Tyrians 
constructed  a  fire-ship,  filled  with  the  most  com- 
bustible materials,  and  towed  to  the  mound. 
They  then  laid  it  alongside  the  towers,  and 
set  it  on  fire ;  from  their  ships  they  also  cast 
darts  upon  the  Macedonians  in  the  towers,  so 
that  they  could  not  move  to  extinguish  the  fire 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  335 

without  the  utmost  hazard.  When  the  flames 
had  taken  effect,  a  general  attack  was  made  by 
the  Tyrian  fleet  in  front  and  on  both  sides. 
The  Macedonians,  blinded  by  the  smoke,  and 
enveloped  in  flames,  could  oflfer  no  effectual  re- 
sistance. The  success  of  the  Tyrians  was 
complete.  They  ascended  the  mound,  destroy- 
ed the  engines,  and  directed  the  progress  of 
the  flames.  They  beat  down  the  facings  of  the 
mole,  pulled  up  the  stakes,  and  in  a  few  hours 
the  works  of  the  besiegers  were  entirely  de- 
stroyed. 

Nothing  daunted  by  this  misfortune,  Alexan- 
der commenced  the  formation  of  another  mole, 
much  broader  and  stronger  than  the  former, 
and  also  gave  orders  to  his  engineers  to  pre- 
pare new  engines.  Finding,  however,  that  it 
would  be  almost  impossible  to  complete  the 
mole,  or  take  the  city  while  the  Tyrians  con- 
tinued masters  at  sea,  he  went  to  Sidon  and 
procured  a  fleet  so  superior  to  that  of  the  Tyri- 
ans, that  the  latter,  after  making  two  or  three 
attacks,  found  it  safer  to  keep  within  their  har- 
bours. 

The  attempts  to  eflfect  a  breach  in  the  walls 
were  no  longer  liable  to  be  interrupted  by  the 
Tyrian  navy,  but  great  difficulties  still  re- 
mained ;  for  the  besieged,  animated  by  the  im- 


336  SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY. 

minent  danger  to  which  they  were  exposed, 
invented  daily  new  arts  to  defend  themselves 
and  repulse  the  enemy.  From  their  com- 
manding position  on  the  walls  they  could 
seriously  annoy  the  men  who  worked  the  en- 
gines. Some  they  caught  with  grappling 
hooks,  and  dragged  within  the  walls ;  others 
they  crushed  with  large  stones,  or  pierced 
with  engine  darts.  They  also  filled  brazen 
shields  with  sand,  and  heated  them  till  they 
were  red-hot,  and  then  threw  the  burning  sand 
upon  their  nearest  assailants.  There  was  no- 
thing which  the  besiegers  dreaded  more  than 
this,  for  the  hot  sand  penetrated  the  chinks  of 
their  armour,  and  made  the  wearer  frantic  with 
pain. 

That  part  of  the  wall  which  faced  the  mole 
was  found  to  be  too  solid  for  the  battering- 
rams  to  make  any  considerable  impression 
upon  it ;  the  besiegers  therefore  constructed 
huge  rafts,  upon  which  they  placed  their  bat- 
tering-rams and  other  engines,  and  thus  the 
whole  circumference  of  the  walls  was  exposed 
to  their  attacks.  It  was  found,  however,  that 
these  enormous  masses  could  not  approach 
near  enough  to  allow  the  engines  to  be  plied 
with  effect,  as  the  outermost  foundations  of 
the  wall  were  protected  by  a  breastwork  of 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  337 

huge  stones,  placed  there  to  break  the  vio- 
lence of  the  waves.  The  Macedonians  had, 
therefore,  w^ith  great  hazard  and  difficulty,  to 
remove  these  unwieldy  obstacles,  and  to  clear 
the  ground.  The  vessels  employed  in  this  ser- 
rice  suffered  every  species  of  active  annoy- 
ance from  the  Tyrians.  Small  boats  with  co- 
vered decks  slipped  under  their  sterns,  and, 
cutting  the  cables  which  held  them,  sent  them 
adrift.  Alexander,  seeing  this,  placed  a  line 
of  boats  with  decks  similarly  covered  to  repel 
the  Tyrians,  and  protect  his  working  vessels. 
But  this  produced  no  effect ;  for  the  Tyrians, 
being  expert  divers,  slid  secretly  out  of  their 
boats,  and  swimming  under  water,  cut  the  ca- 
bles close  to  the  anchors.  Chain  cables  were 
finally  substituted,  and  the  work  proceeded, 
till,  the  huge  bank  of  stones  being  cleared 
away,  the  floats  could  easily  approach  the 
wall. 

They  first  brought  the  floating  engines  to  bear 
upon  the  northern  part  of  the  wall ;  but  fail- 
ing to  do  any  execution  there,  they  moved 
them  round  to  the  southern  side,  making  at- 
tempts on  different  parts  of  the  walls  as  they 
passed  along,  until  at  length  they  found  a  more 
vulnerable  spot,  and  succeeded  in  maki^^^  a 
small  breach ;  whereupon  they  immediately 
22 


338  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

mounted  the  breach  by  the  help  of  their  lad- 
ders, and  began  to  storm  the  place  ;  but  the  Ty- 
rians,  without  any  difficulty,  repulsed  them. 
The  third  day  after  this,  the  sea  being  perfectly 
calm,  a  general  assault  was  made.  Two  rafts, 
carrying  the  most  powerful  engines  and  batter- 
ing-rams, were  again  brought  up  to  the  wall,  a 
great  part  of  which  fell  at  the  first  shock  of  the 
engines.  As  soon  as  the  breach  was  wide 
enough,  the  besiegers  entered  the  city  over  the 
ruins  of  the  wall.  In  the  mean  time,  the  fleet 
had  made  two  successful  attacks  from  opposite 
quarters  ;  one  part  of  it  had  forced  an  entrance 
into  the  northern,  and  the  other  into  the  south- 
ern harbour ;  so  that  the  city  was  taken  on  all 
sides. 

The  carnage  was  dreadful ;  for  the  Macedo- 
nians, exasperated  by  numerous  insults,  by  the 
length  and  obstinacy  of  the  defence,  and  the 
serious  loss  they  had  suffered,  showed  no 
mercy.  Eight  thousand  of  the  inhabitants 
were  slain  :  those  only  who  had  fled  to  the  tem- 
ples were  spared ;  the  remainder,  to  the  num- 
ber of  thirty  thousand,  were  sold  into  slavery.* 
Thus,  according  to  the  prophecy,  were  the  Ty- 
rians  "  cast  out"  of  the  "  strong  hold"  which 
they  had  built  for  themselves ;  while  "  their 
*  Joel  iii,  6-8. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  339 

power  in  the  sea"  was  "  smitten"  by  the  loss  of 
their  navy. 

The  foregoing  particulars  respecting  the 
capture  of  Tyre  have  been  chiefly  gathered 
from  Arrian's  History  of  Alexander's  expedi- 
tion. Quintus  Curtius,  who  has  written  upon 
the  same  subject,  but  whose  history  is  con- 
sidered less  authentic,  adds  that  the  conqueror 
ordered  the  city  to  be  set  on  fire:  the  confla- 
gration, however,  if  it  took  place,  must  have 
been  but  a  partial  one,  for  Alexander,  when 
he  had  "  ridded  the  city  of  its  former  inhabit- 
ants, repeopled  it  with  colonies  drawn  from 
the  neighbouring  places,  and  from  thence 
would  be  esteemed  the  founder  of  the  city, 
though  in  truth  he  was  the  cruel  destroyer 
of  it."* 

Tyre,  soon  after  this,  again  became  a  place 
of  importance,  and  was  an  object  of  conten- 
tion among  Alexander's  successors  ;  but  it 
never  regained  its  former  greatness  ;  for,  by  the 
building  of  Alexandria  in  Egypt,  which  gradu- 
ally drew  away  from  Tyre  that  foreign  traffic 
through  which  it  had  enjoyed  unexampled 
prosperity  for  not  less  than  a  thousand  years, 
Alexander  did  the  Tyrians  more  lasting  injury 
than  he  had  done  by  the  capture  of  their  city. 
*  Prideaux. 


340  SCRIPTTTRE    PROPHECY. 

But  there  is  a  prophecy  respecting  Tyre 
that  is  of  a  more  pleasing  character : — It  was 
foretold  that  at  one  period  Tyre  should  forsake 
her  idols  and  worship  the  true  God. — The  Psalm- 
ist, describing  the  access  of  the  Gentiles  to  the 
kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  says, 

"  The  daughter  of  Tyre  shall  be  there  with  a  gift." 

Psalm  xlv,  12. 

And  Isaiah  foretels,  that 

"  Her  merchandise  and  her  hire  shall  be  holiness  to  the 
Lord  : 
It  shall  not  be  treasured  nor  laid  up ; 
For  her  merchandise  shall  be  for  them  that  dwell  be- 
fore the  Lord, 
To  eat  sufficiently  and  for  durable  clothing." 

Isaiah  xxiii,  18. 

These  predictions  evidently  indicate  a  period 
when  "  Tyre,  converted  by  the  gospel,  should 
no  more  be  a  scandal  and  stumbling-block  to 
nations  :  should  no  longer  sacrifice  her  labour 
to  the  idolatry  of  wealth,  but  to  the  worship  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  comfort  of  those  that  serve 
him."*  They  began  to  be  accomplished  in  the 
days  of  our  Saviour,  at  which  time  Tyre  was 
still  a  populous  and  flourishing  place.  When  he 

*Rollin. 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  341 

exercised  his  personal  ministry  in  the  land  of 
Judea,  "  a  great  multitude  of  people  from  the 
sea-coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  came  to  hear 
him  and  to  be  healed  of  their  diseases,"  Luke 
vi,  17;  see  also  Matthew  xiv,  21-28.  When 
Paul,  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  visited  Tyre, 
he  found  disciples  there  who  were  inspired  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  prophesied,  and  with  them 
he  "  tarried  seven  days."  The  shores  of  Tyre 
had  witnessed  many  splendid  spectacles,  but 
none  so  beautiful  as  that  which  they  presented 
upon  the  apostle's  departure :  "  and  the  disci- 
ples all  brought  us  on  our  way,  with  wives 
and  children,  till  we  were  out  of  the  city :  and 
we  kneeled  down  on  the  shore  and  prayed. 
And  when  we  had  taken  our  leave  one  of  an- 
other, we  took  ship,  and  they  returned  home 
again,"  Acts  xxi,  5,  6.  During  the  persecu- 
tions under  Diocletian,  the  Christians  of  Tyre 
witnessed  a  good  confession,  and  many  spirits 
fled  triumphantly  from  thence  to  join  "  the 
noble  army  of  martyrs."  After  the  storm  of 
persecution  was  blown  over,  the  Tyrians,  un- 
der their  bishop  Paulinus,  erected  for  the  wor- 
ship of  God  the  most  magnificent  te>iiple  in 
all  Palestine  and  Phoenicia,  and  many  other 
churches  were  also  built  there.  Eusebius, 
who  flourished  in   the   fourth  century,  com- 


342  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

meriting  on  this  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  observes, 
"  It  is  fulfilled  in  our  time.  For  since  a  church 
of  God  hath  been  founded  in  Tyre,  as  well  as 
in  other  nations,  many  of  its  goods,  gotten  by 
merchandise,  are  consecrated  to  the  Lord, 
being  offered  to  his  church — for  the  use  of  the 
ministers  of  the  altar  or  gospel,  according  to 
the  institution  of  our  Lord,  that  they  who  wait  at 
the  altar  should  live  of  the  altar."  In.  like  man- 
ner, St.  Jerome  remarks,  "  We  may  behold 
churches  in  Tyre  built  to  Christ ;  we  may  see 
their  riches,  that  they  are  not  treasured,  *  not 
laid  up,'  but  given  to  those  who  *  dwell  before 
the  Lord.'  For  the  Lord  hath  appointed,  that 
they  who  preach  the  gospel  should  live  of  the 
gospel."  Eusebius  gives  the  following  delight- 
ful character  of  the  church  then  in  existence  : 
*'  Comely  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  church 
were  celebrated ;  here,  with  psalmodies  and 
other  songs  of  praise  delivered  us  from  above ; 
there,  with  divine  and  mystical  ministry  the 
secret  pledges  of  the  Lord's  passion  were 
solemnized ;  and  withal,  men  and  women  of 
every  age,  with  all  the  might  that  in  them  lay, 
with  cheerful  mind  and  will,  in  prayer  and 
thanksgiving,  honoured  God,  the  author  of  all 
goodness."  At  an  early  period.  Tyre  was 
erected  into  an  archbishopric,  and  had  four- 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  343 

teen  bishoprics  under  its  jurisdiction ;    and  in 
this  state  it  continued  several  years.* 

But  it  was  predicted  that  finally  Tyre  should 
he  totally  destroyed^  and  become  a  place  only 
for  fishers  to  spread  their  nets  upon. — About  the 
year  639  Tyre  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Sara- 
cens. In  1124,  at  which  time  it  was  still  a 
considerable  place,  it  was  taken  from  them  by 
the  Crusaders,  who  retained  it  till  1289,  when 
it  was  taken  by  the  Mamelukes  of  Egypt,  who 
destroyed  both  Tyre  and  Sidon,  with  some 
other  strong  towns,  that  they  might  no  longer 
afford  any  harbour  or  shelter  to  the  Christians. 
In  1516  it  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
Turks.  Sandys,  who  was  at  Tyre  one  hun- 
dred years  subsequent  to  this,  after  alluding  to 
its  former  greatness,  adds, — "  But  this  once 
famous  Tyre  is  now  no  other  than  a  heap  of 
mines ;  yet  have  they  a  reverent  respect,  and 
doe  instruct  the  pensive  beholder  by  their  ex- 
emplary frail  tie." 

Since  that  period  it  has  been  visited  by 
numerous  travellers ;  and  the  literal  fulfilment  of 
the  prophecy,  which,  nearly  two  thousand  years 
before  its  complete  destruction,  had  foretold 
the  use  that  would  be  made  of  its  site,  and  the 
*  Newton — Hardy. 


344  SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY. 

kind  of  men  that  would  inhabit  it,  has  been 
confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  many  witnesses  : 

"  I  will  make  her  like  the  top  of  a  rock, 
It  shall  be  a  place  for  the  spreading  of  nets  in  the  midst 
v»f  the  sea.'* 

Maundrell,  who  visited  Tyre  in  1696,  de- 
scribes it  thus  :  "  This  city,  standing  in  the  sea 
upon  a  peninsula,*  promises  at  a  distance  some- 
thing very  magnificent.  But  when  you  come  to  it, 
you  find  no  similitude  of  that  glory  for  which  it 
was  so  renowned  in  ancient  times.  On  the  north 
side  it  has  an  old  Turkish  ungarrisoned  castle  ; 
besides  which  you  see  nothing  here  but  a  con- 
fused Babel  of  broken  walls,  pillars,  vaults, 
&c. ;  there  being  not  so  much  as  one  entire 
house  left.  Its  present  inhabitants  are  only  a 
few  poor  wretches,  harbouring  themselves  in 
the  vaults,  and  subsisting  chiefly  upon  fishing, 
who  seem  to  be  preserved  in  this  place  by 
divine  Providence,  as  a  visible  argument  how 
God  has  fulfilled  his  word  concerning  Tyre." 

*  Tyre  was  converted  into  a  peninsula  by  the  mound 
with  which  Alexander  connected  it  to  the  main  land ;  for 
the  sea,  which  usually  destroys  artificial  structures,  has 
not  only  spared  this,  but  has  so  enlarged  it,  by  washing 
up  the  sand  on  either  side,  that  it  is  become  a  solid  isth- 
mus, and  none,  but  those  acquainted  with  its  history, 
would  suppose  it  to  be  the  work  of  man. 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECT.  345 

Dr.  Shaw,  who  was  there  a  few  years  after 
Maundrell,  says, — "  Notwithsanding  Tyre  was 
the  chief  maritime  power  of  this  country,  I 
could  not  observe  the  least  token  of  a  harbour 
that  could  have  been  of  any  extraordinary  ca- 
pacity. In  the  N.  N.  E.  part  of  the  city  were 
traces  of  a  safe  and  commodious  basin,  lying 
within  the  walls,  but  which  at  the  same  time 
is  very  small,  scarce  forty  yards  in  diameter. 
Yet  even  this  port,  small  as  it  is  at  present,  is 
notwithstanding  so  choked  up  with  sand  and 
rubbish,  that  the  boats  of  those  poor  fishermen 
who  now  and  then  visit  this  once  renowned 
emporium,  and  dry  their  nets  upon  its  rocks 
and  ruins,  can  with  great  difficulty  only  be 
admitted." 

But  the  most  striking  testimony  is  that  of  the 
infidel  Volney,  who,  in  an  interesting  account 
of  Tyre,  after  quoting  from  Ezekiel  the  de- 
scription of  its  ancient  glory,  and  the  predic- 
tion of  its  overthrow,  adds, — "  The  vicissitudes 
of  time,  or  rather  the  barbarism  of  the  Greek 
empire,  and  the  Mohammedans,  have  accom- 
plished the  prediction.  Instead  of  the  ancient 
commerce,  so  active  and  extensive.  Sour,  [the 
modem  name  of  Tyre,]  reduced  to  a  miserable 
village,  has  no  other  trade  than  the  exportation 
of  a  few  sacks  of  com,  and  raw  cotton,  nor  any 


346  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

merchant  but  a  single  Greek  factor  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  French  of  Saide,  [Sidon,]  who 
scarcely  makes  sufficient  profit  to  maintain  his 
family."  The  same  writer  informs  us  that  "  the 
whole  village  contains  only  fifty  or  sixty  poor 
families,  who  live  but  indiflferently,  on  the  pro- 
duce of  their  little  grounds,  and  a  trifling  fish- 
ery. The  houses  they  occupy  are  no  longer, 
as  in  the  days  of  Strabo,  edifices  of  three  or 
four  stories  high,  but  wretched  huts,  ready  to 
crumble  to  pieces."  This  was  in  1784  ;  since 
that  period.  Tyre  has  somewhat  increased,  and 
Mr.  Jowett,  in  1823,  estimated  the  population 
at  fourteen  hundred,  and  the  number  of  houses 
at  two  hundred ;  most  of  these,  however,  con- 
sisted of  only  one  or  two  rooms,  and  were 
more  like  huts  than  houses.  Mr.  Joliffe  says, 
*'  Some  miserable  cabins,  ranged  in  irregular 
lines,  dignified  with  the  name  of  streets,  and 
a  few  buildings  of  a  rather  better  description, 
occupied  by  the  officers  of  government,  compose 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  town.  The  noble  dust 
of  Alexander,  traced  by  the  imagination  till  found 
stopping  a  beer  barrel,  would  scarcely  aflford 
a  stronger  contrast  of  grandeur  and  debase- 
ment, than  Tyre,  at  the  period  of  being  be- 
sieged by  that  conqueror,  and  the  modem  town 
of  Tsour,  erected  on  its  ashes." 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY.  347 

The  following  description  is  given  by  Mr. 
Hardy,  who  was  there  in  1833.  He  says, — 
"  The  island  is  represented  by  Pliny  as  hav- 
ing been  four  miles  in  circumference,  but  the 
peninsula  upon  which  the  present  town  is 
situated  is  of  much  less  extent.  It  would 
therefore  appear  that  it  is  built  for  the  most 
part  upon  the  mole  thrown  up  by  Alexander, 
including  a  small  portion  of  the  original  island. 
There  is  thus  enough  of  the  rock  left  in  ex- 
istence for  the  fishers  to  spread  their  nets 
upon,  while  the  principal  area,  once  mantled 
with  palaces  and  alive  with  a  busy  population, 
has  been  swept  into  "  the  midst  of  the  water," 
and  can  be  built  no  more.*  The  disappear- 
ance of  the  island  has  caused  the  destruction 
of  the  harbours ;  and  as  all  protection  to  ship- 
ping is  now  taken  away.  Tyre  can  never  again 
rise  to  eminence  as  the  mart  of  nations.  There 
are  still  two  small  rocks  in  the  sea,  to  which 
the  island  probably  extended.  The  present 
town  is  walled,  and  is  of  very  modern  date. 
The  space  inside  is  in  a  great  measure  open, 
and  the  houses  are  mean ;  the  governor's  resi- 
dence is  the  only  respectable  building. — No 
merchant  of  the  earth  now  enters  the  name  of 

*  "  I  shall  bring  up  the  deep  upon  thee,  and  great  wa- 
ters shall  cover  thee,"  Ezek.  xxvi,  19. 


348  SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY. 

Tyre  upon  his  books,  and  where  thousands  once 
assembled  in  pomp  and  pride,  and  there  was 
beauty,  and  splendour,  and  dominion,  I  could 
discover  only  a  few  children  amusing  themselves 
at  play,  and  a  party  of  Turks  sitting  in  gravity, 
and  sipping  their  favourite  coffee." 

The  following  is  taken  from  Dr.  Robinson  : — 
"  1838,  June  24.  We  spent  this  day  at  Tyre. 
After  breakfast  I  wandered  out  alone  toward  the 
south  end  of  the  peninsula,  beyond  the  city, 
where  all  is  now  forsaken  and  lonely,  like  the 
desert.  I  continued  my  walk  along  the  whole 
western  and  northern  shore  of  the  peninsula, 
musing  upon  the  pomp  and  glory,  the  pride  and 
fall,  of  ancient  Tyre.  Here  was  the  little  isle, 
once  covered  by  her  palaces,  and  surrounded  by 
her  fleets  ;  where  the  builders  perfected  her 
beauty  in  the  midst  of  the  seas ;  where  her  mer- 
chants were  princes,  and  her  traffickers  the  hon- 
ourable of  the  earth :  but  alas !  *  thy  riches,  and 
thy  fairs,  thy  merchandise,  thy  mariners,  and  thy 
pilots,  thy  calkers,  and  the  occupiers  of  thy  mer- 
chandise, and  all  the  men  of  war  that  were  in 
thee,  and  in  all  thy  company,' — where  are  they  ? 
Tyre  has  indeed  become  'like  the  top  of  a  rock, 
a  place  to  spread  nets  upon ! '  The  sole  remain- 
ing tokens  of  her  more  ancient  splendour  lie 
strewed  beneath  the  waves  in  the  midst  of  the 


SCRIPTURE  PROPHECY.  349 

sea ;  and  the  hovels  which  now  nestle  upon  a 
portion  of  her  site,  present  no  contradiction  of  the 
dread  decree,  *  Thou  shalt  be  built  no  more ! ' " 

Dr.  Olin,  who  visited  the  East  in  1840,  says 
of  Tyre,  "  The  present  miserable  town  stands 
on  a  small  part  of  the  east  side  of  the  peninsula 
— the  former  island.  The  site  is  low,  and  the 
houses,  from  whatever  point  seen,  appear  to  rise 
out  of  the  sea.  It  is  a  poor-looking  place,  made 
up  of  low,  flat-roofed  houses,  has  but  little  busi- 
ness, and  perhaps  three  or  four  thousand  inha- 
bitants. I  walked  to  the  harbour.  There  were 
then  only  four  small  craft  in  this  little  port — 
rather  boats  than  ships :  as  many  more  were 
drawn  ashore  for  repairs.  The  water  is  shoal. 
Mr.  Stukes  and  I  took  a  small  boat  to  perform  the 
circuit  of  the  old  city.  It  could  not  come  to  land, 
and  we  were  carried  on  board  by  the  waterman. 
I  do  not  think  there  is  eight  feet  water  in  any 
part  of  the  harbour.  This  is  the  ancient  port, 
and  it  is  still  enclosed  by  the  remains  of  an  an- 
cient wall,  which  formed  at  the  same  time  the 
wall  of  the  town.  Passing  to  the  outside  of  this 
wall,  we  passed  quite  round  the  peninsula  to  the 
south  side  of  the  isthmus.  The  massive  founda- 
tions of  the  ancient  pier  rise  several  feet  above 
the  shallow  water.  The  stones  of  the  foundation 
are  very  massive.    The  work  consisted  of  a  sue- 


350  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECr. 

cession  of  strong  towers,  connected  by  thick 
walls  reaching  across  the  mouth  of,  or  rather 
forming  the  harbour.  About  midway,  a  passage 
was  left  for  the  ingress  and  egress  of  vessels. 
Parts  of  this  pier  have  suffered  from  violent 
storms,  and  immense  blocks  of  stone  are  visible 
through  the  transparent  water,  scattered  over  the 
bottom  of  the  sea.  At  different  points  along  this 
sea-wall  are  large  numbers  of  ancient  columns 
and  fragments  of  columns,  lying  mostly  in  the 
water.  I  counted  above  fifty  of  these  in  one 
place,  many  of  them  of  a  very  large  size.  We 
traced  the  old  wall  around  the  western  side  of  the 
peninsula.  The  whole  line  is  easily  traceable  by 
considerable  remains.  On  the  southern  end  of 
the  peninsula,  the  remains  of  the  old  wall  are  still 
more  considerable.  It  was  strengthened  by  tow- 
ers, distributed  at  short  intervals,  of  which  the 
massive  foundations  remain.  The  massiveness 
of  the  stones  employed  in  building  the  sea-wall 
is,  I  think,  pretty  conclusive  evidence  that  this 
noble  bulwark  belongs  to  the  early  and  pros- 
perous days  of  Tyrian  commerce.  The  whole 
peninsula,  where  not  occupied  by  the  houses  of 
the  present  city,  is  covered  with  foundations,  bro- 
ken arches,  and  heaps  of  stone  and  rubbish.  The 
modern  village  has  almost  no  importance  of  any 
kind,  and  it  is  only  wonderful  that  three  thousand 


SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY.  351 

miserable  people  should  have  assembled  upon 
this  sickly  spot,  instead  of  living  in  the  more 
healthy  and  pleasant  mountain  villages.  The 
facility  of  obtaining  building  materials  from  the 
field  of  ruins,  and  some  advantages  of  fishing, 
were  probably  the  chief  inducements  for  reviving 
this  poor  shadow  of  Tyre. 

Of  old  or  continental  Tyre  it  was  expressly 
foretold, — "  Thou  shall  he  no  more;  though  thou 
he  sought  for^  yet  shalt  thou  never  he  found 
again^''  Ezek.  xxvi,  21.  Its  ruins,  as  we  have 
already  shown,  were  removed  by  Alexander, 
and  now,  not  a  single  vestige  of  the  ancient 
city  appears.  The  traveller,  as  he  paces  along 
its  desolate  shore,  finds  it  difiicult  to  realize  the 
fact,  that 

** once  it  was  the  busiest  haunt, 


Whither,  as  to  a  common  centre,  flocked 
Strangers,  and  ships,  and  merchandise.*' 

"  The  stirring  scenes  of  a  sea-port  exhibit  a 
picture  of  more  constant  excitement  than  can 
ever  be  presented  by  any  other  place.  The 
arrival  and  discharge  of  ships  ;  the  cries  of  the 
captains  as  they  direct  the  ready  mariners  ;  the 
songs  of  the  boatmen,  the  dash  of  the  oars,  and 
the  roll  of  the  sea ;  the  anxious  assemblies  of 
the  merchants,   either  speaking  of  traffic,  or 


352  SCRIPTURE   PROPHECY. 

proclaiming  their  good  fortune,  or  lamenting 
the  loss  of  some  fair  ship  in  a  destructive  gale ; 
the  reckless  merriment  of  the  sailors,  as  they 
enjoy  upon  land  a  little  respite  from  their  con- 
stant toils : — all  these,  and  a  thousand  other 
scenes  of  noise,  and  joyousness,  and  wealth, 
have  been  exhibited  upon  this  now  deserted 
shore.  They  have  vanished  like  the  feverish 
dream  of  a  disturbed  sleep." — Hardy,  Not  one 
sight,  not  one  sound  remains  to  bear  witness  to 
its  former  joyousness  and  pride. 

"Her  renown 
Is  pass*d  away !  her  palaces  are  gone ! — 
Her  riches,  gold  and  silver,  precious  stones, 
Fine  linen,  silk,  and  costly  merchandise, 
All,  all  have  pass'd  away!" — Atherstone. 

"Who  hath  taken  this  counsel  against  Tyre? 
The  Lord  of  hosts  hath  purposed  it,  to  stain  the 
pride  of  all  glory,  and  to  bring  into  contempt  all 
the  honourable  of  the  earth."  Isa.  xxiii,  8, 9. 


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